My Heart's Musician
by FortunesRevolver
Summary: It was supposed to be a simple favour; Ludwig has asked him to walk his dogs while he was out with Feliciano. Upon arriving at the German’s supposedly empty house, he stumbles upon Gilbert on the roof playing a FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! PrussiaxAustria
1. Prologue

Ah... So, the idea for this story started with a RP I was doing with _Formidonis_ over on Marukaite Chikyuu [my Hetalia RP forum, links in my profile if you're curious.] Austria's actions for this story will mostly be based upon his actions in the RP, and Prussia's my own. I, for one, think Formidonis is a brilliant Austria, but I'm not confident about my Prussia. In any case, I know this explanation doesn't make much sense, so I'll simply move on.

All in all, I apologize for any OOC-ness. This is just the prologue, so nothing much happens, but I'm curious if people like the idea.

My first Hetalia fanfic being written on my own (after my collab with Formidonis with "The Rebel and the Redcoat" which you should totally go read as well.)

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Title: **My Heart's Musician

**Series:** Axis Powers Hetalia (AU, college universe)

**Pairing: **GilbertxRoderich _(with AlfredxArthur, LudwigxFeliciano, and YaoxKiku)_

**Full Summary: **_It was supposed to be a simple favour; Ludwig has asked him to walk his dogs while he was out with Feliciano. Upon arriving at the German's supposedly empty house, he stumbles upon Gilbert on the roof playing a violin he'd given to him years ago. The domino effect starts there, and soon, the musician finds himself looking for answers to questions he's avoided for years._

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**Prologue**

Gilbert sighed quietly from his hiding spot inside the music room, his crimson eyes carefully locked on the back of a brunette figure sitting at the large grand piano in the center of the room. Beside the brunette was a tall man in a black conductors suit, his head bowed and moving quietly with the elegant music the brunette was playing.

The song was slow, but not at all simple. Its complicated notes mixed together in an elegant melody that would speed up at points as the notes got higher, and then slowed again as they began to get lower. The perfection in presentation was nothing to turn one's nose at, and not a single note was out of place or tune. The player was obviously close to that of a professional, but despite this, the deep frown never left Gilbert's lips.

When the piece was finally finished, the teacher launched into a detailed and overly complicated explanation of how wonderful the boy was doing and that he was on his way to a full-ride scholarship for the best music schools in the area, and he'd no longer have to waste his time and talent at such a 'low class' university. The hidden albino scoffed at this, rolling his eyes. The university they attended was hardly close to anything remotely 'low class.'

Hetalia Academy, while the closest school in the area, was a line of prestigious schools that only let the best in. Of course, it had its run of 'average' students, but anyone close to average would still be considered among the best if they'd gone to a normal school. Hetalia only wanted the best, and each student was carefully profiled at a young age before being allowed to enter the elementary division, and once you were in, you were in. If you left, for any reason, you were out and the likelihood of being allowed back in was slim to none.

The Academy was made up of five buildings, set up in along the guidelines of an average American school setting. The first being a pre-school and daycare center that was open to everyone in the community, but most of the children sent there were by parents who hoped to get their children into the main school line. The second was the elementary school that held students in grades Kindergarten to fifth. The third building was a middle school, where students would move through grades sixth to eighth. However, depending on a student's performance in elementary school would determine if they were allowed to move on to Hetalia's middle school at all.

For the students who passed passed through the middle school with an acceptable GPA, they were granted into the high school, which was more difficult than it looked, and the second largest of all the buildings. The teachers there, while most were kind, were very strict on the rules and a student's grades. If someone fell behind, they were either expelled, or forced to attend over the weekend and evening lessons until they caught up.

Finally, there was the University. The students who made it through high school were automatically accepted, but like the previous grades, could lose it at the drop of a dime. The University was the only one of the line of schools that accepted outsiders, and at that, it was only a hundred of them a year, and they were selected randomly in a lottery of over a thousand of elite students.

Gilbert, like his younger brother and friends, was among the lucky ones who'd attended the Hetalia schools all his life. He'd managed to hang on to his status as the sixth ranked student in the school (falling short of his brother in fifth.) The two of them were supposed to be tied, but the albino's tendencies to pull pranks kept him from staying in the top five, and the only reason he hadn't been kicked out for his shenanigans was because he was in the top ten, and even his singular presence kept the school's GPA average higher. And Hetalia wouldn't dare risk lowering that.

Above the two brothers were a boy from Japan by the name of Kiku Honda, who, to Gilbert's knowledge, was dating another boy from the school, from China, by the name of Yao Wang. A blond male who'd moved to the area from England just in time to make it into the elementary school by the name of Arthur Kirkland (who the albino was convinced was infatuated with an American by the name of Alfred who was several ranks lower than himself, and a close personal friend of Gilbert's) was closely ranked with the two Asian's, but the three's scores held little difference, and when anyone asked who the top three were, the order would always be different.

In fourth place was the very brunette Gilbert was currently spying on, Roderich Edelstein, an Austrian who the albino had known for as long as he could remember. The brunette lived several streets away from his own house, and it was a good ten minute walk. (Yet, despite the albino's somewhat cruel teasing, the two males were often seen with a young female by the name of Elizabeta (holding the seventh place rank under Gilbert which both infuriated her and amused him) who lived next door to Roderich and had moved to the area with her parents shortly after her birth in Hungary.

"You're on your way to greatness, Roderich!" The music teacher exclaimed, "Absolute _greatness_, my boy. Your name will be known around the world, and your music will warm and soothe the hearts of millions."

"…I doubt that," Gilbert muttered, turning away from the pair and making his way toward the window he'd used to sneak in. "He won't make it anywhere with music like that. He can play anything you hand him perfectly… but that doesn't make it good, because he's not playing." _Not anymore, at least. Roddy stopped playing music in middle school… and I don't know how it is that I'm the only one who has bothered to notice._


	2. Chapter 1

First off, thank you to all reviews to left me something for the prologue, even if it was a bit boring. Most of tKihe people just threw me on story alert, but at least that was enough to let me know people wanted to read.

Now, moving on...

To clear up some confusion, Arthur, Kiku, and Yao are the top three ranking students in Hetalia academy. Their scores differ by very little, and the top three ranks change so often (meaning one gets an 'A' the other two get an 'A-' somewhere) that they're just seen as the "top three" and none of them hold an actual stop of 1,2, 3 ranking.

Really though, for the most part, the school doesn't hold a major part in the story (not really) so there isn't much to say.

Um... OH.

I don't own Hetalia, obviously. I could never create something as awesome as Prussia. I know. I've tried... it failed.

Ah, well. Enjoy~

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Chapter One**

The house was completely empty, just how Gilbert liked it. While the albino usually enjoyed the company of his brother and their group of unique and somewhat quirky friends, he, like his brother, took a decent amount of pleasure in his 'alone time'.

As it was, Ludwig had left to go meet Feliciano somewhere downtown, shooting a hesitant glance back at his older brother and forcing the albino to make a quick promise that the he 'wouldn't break anything' while he was gone. Gilbert had sent his little brother out the front door with a small shove and a muttered reassurance that he wasn't that destructive, and gave him a would-be comforting grin that could have been convincing had he not looked ready to burst into manic laughter the moment his younger sibling turned away.

Making his way slowly up the stairs to the second floor, Gilbert paused, glancing over his shoulder, only sighing in relief when he saw nothing following him. He had just filled the dog's food dishes to the brim with food (something he knew very well that Ludwig hated—halfway in the morning was enough, and half at night) in hopes of distracting them while he ran his room. He had nothing against the dogs; in fact, he rather liked them. When his brother was away, he would spend his time rough-housing with them and allowing them to break every rule the blond ever set (most of which consisted of luring them up onto Ludwig's bed.)

As the albino entered his own personal living space, he shut the door behind him, carefully glancing around the room as if expecting someone to suddenly pop out and attempt to catch him in the act of whatever it was that he was doing. He sighed softly in relief when silence and still movement was all that greeted him, and made his way across the room, over to the closet. Opening it, he paused, the doorknob still gripped tightly in his hand, and glanced around. Nothing. He snorted and shook his head, grabbing a long black case from the inside and leaving the room before muttering to himself that he was being paranoid.

Sometime shortly after Ludwig left, Gilbert found himself in a distressful situation. He was bored. Very bored, and he knew if he followed the younger German out of the house, while he'd be entertained, he'd likely ruin Ludwig's chances of 'invading Feliciano's vital regions.' The promise of being able to tease them both once it happened was far more tempting than that of getting to stalk them for a day. That, and, like most people, he was getting tired of their game of 'hard to get', and he was seriously considering the option of locking them both in a closet and not letting them out until they decided to 'be honest'. Thus, in order to rid himself of boredom, Gilbert decided to be productive today.

The wonderful thing about an empty house was that it allowed one to drop their normal character and do whatever they pleased until someone returned home. He could open the fridge and leave it open until the moment just before Ludwig opened the door; he could turn up the air conditioner and turn the house into an icebox (not that he would, the last thing he needed was giving their Russian neighbor a reason to come over.) Hell, he could have walked around naked if he so pleased, but this idea was quickly dismissed, with the reasoning of it being pointless to show off your body when no one was around to compliment on how awesome it was. But most importantly, there was no one there to tease him for what he was planning to do.

Gilbert entered the weight room that was down the hall from his room on the second floor of their house. He left the door open behind him and quickly crossed the plush carpet to the sliding window and opened it. A fresh wave of cool air washed over his pale skin and the albino sighed softly in content. He loved to cause havoc and chaos, but even he held a small fondness for the simplest of pleasures (not that he'd admit that to just anyone.)

Swinging one of his legs over the window frame, Gilbert carefully hoisted himself through the window and out into the roof, leaning in backward to grab the black case he'd been carrying before slipping back out. He took a set just a few feet away from the window and stretched before sitting down, running a hand through his short silver-white hair.

Another cool breeze washed over him and he shivered, pulling the fabric of his red hooded-jacket closet. He was in a pair of black jeans, black lace-up boots that stopped just shy of his knees, a long-sleeved black shirt, and the deep crimson hoodie that complimented his eyes nicely. Around his neck was his ever-present necklace, the black German cross, outlined in white glimmering faintly in the mid-morning sunlight.

"It's cold…" he murmured, undoing the clasps that held the black case shut. Cold as it was, the jacket would be enough to keep him warm, and he didn't bother zipping it. He hated feeling restricted. It was bad enough that a certain brunette would constantly berate him for not dressing warmly enough in winter. If he was going to be held down for one season, he'd be damned if he got stuck like that for any of the other three.

The top of the case was flipped back, and the inside was revealed to be made of plush back velvet, several straps running from one side to the other, holding an elegant and very high-class, well kept violin inside. Gilbert smiled faintly, running a hand along the glossy body, his fingers stopping at each strap to carefully undo it before moving on to the next.

He lifted the instrument up and out of the case, taking the bow in his free hand, looking it up and down before nodding in silent satisfaction and taking a proper playing position, his chin fitting perfectly into the rest, as if the design had been custom made just for him. His hand shifted upward, slowly pulling the bow across the strings several times in practice, making sure that the instrument was as tuned a he left it the last time. The notes came out as desired and he lowered it, staring at the instrument in sorrow, his gazed fixed on the lower right corner, where the words, "Happy birthday, Gilbert" were carefully etched into the glossy surface in neat, calligraphic-like writing.

The violin had been a gift from Roderich almost five years ago, given to him during their first year of high school. He'd taken it with a smirk and claim that it was a lame gift, and something that Roderich himself would enjoy more than he would, but kept it regardless. Later that night, he'd been scolded by Ludwig for "being an ass" and told to apologize to the Austrian the next day (which he didn't.)

However, after stumbling upon the brunette playing the same instrument in the high school's music room, Gilbert found himself digging the instrument out of his closet and sitting on his bed for several hours, simply staring at it. What had moved him to do so, the albino couldn't figure out for the life of him, but somehow he moved from simply staring to attempting to figure out how to properly hold it. By the end of the night, he'd figured out several (very simple) five-note songs and made a note to return to the music room the next day to study Roderich again and figure out just how the hell to play the damned thing.

Which lead to Gilbert where he was now. Sitting on his roof, staring at the same violin he'd vowed never to touch again, let alone learn to use. Taking position again, crimson eyes fluttered shut as he lowered the bow back to the strings, pausing for only a moment to pick one of the many songs he'd long-since memorized before beginning to play.

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It was supposed to be a simple task, really. Nothing more than a simple trip to the house and a quick down the road. Earlier that morning, Roderich had received a call from Ludwig, asking him to walk to his house and check on the dogs, letting them out to use the bathroom and perhaps take a short walk to the park and back home. The brunette had agreed without much thought. After all, Ludwig wasn't the type to ask for help unless he really needed it, and his requests were usually very simple. Roderich had watched the dogs once before when the two German brothers had gone on vacation, but that had been ages ago, and it wasn't until he'd hung up that the Austrian realized with a sudden feeling of dread that Ludwig hadn't said _anything_ about Gilbert, and the brunette hadn't bothered to ask why Ludwig hadn't asked the albino to do it.

"…Why did I agree to this again?" Roderich asked himself quietly, staring at the house before him. Silence was his only answer, and the brunette scolded himself silently for expecting one. His gaze was fixed on the dark blue door before him, the faint sound of paws against tile flooring audible through the door.

_I should have politely declined…_ the brunette thought dully as he stepped forward, hesitantly testing the door handle, which, to his dread, was unlocked. _I suppose the excuse of not being able to get inside is useless, at his point._ With a small sigh and attempt at self-reassurance that "nothing could _possibly_ go wrong", Roderich opened the door and stepped inside, causing the scuttling to cease immediately.

The first thing the Austrian noticed as he shut the back door behind him was that he was in the kitchen. He'd never used the back door before, and he wasn't used to entering the house from anywhere but the front. Thinking about it, he'd been over to the brother's house before many times, but he rarely spent enough time in the kitchen to get a good look at it. Now, finally having the momentary chance to do so, it unnerved him a bit. Ludwig had never struck the brunette as the messy type, but he found the unnaturally _clean_ condition of the kitchen bothersome. After all, Gilbert lived in his house as well, and Roderich knew the albino had never been the most motivated person when it came to housekeeping.

Alas, Roderich's admiration for the kitchen was short lived as he took a step further inside and immediately had the wind knock from him as he hit the floor with an undignified crash. Several small fuzzy faces obscured his vision and three different tongues attempted to moisten every part of skin that wasn't under clothing. The Austrian flailed uselessly under the dogs, trying to push the two closest to him away so that he might sit up. His attempts failed, as the largest of the dogs, a husky that looked as if it had more wolf in it than domestic dog, draped itself across his chest with a muffled 'woof', and gave Roderich what the brunette could have sworn was a smirk that was far to Gilbert-like for his liking.

_That must be Adler…_ the Austrian thought with a small frown. _Ludwig mentioned on the phone that Gilbert had gotten a dog of his own recently, and of course, he had to get the closest thing to a wild animal legally possible._

"Off!" he ordered sharply, earning nothing more than a tilt of the head from the husky. "It's very nice to see you, too, pooches. But get off me—guagh!"

Opening his mouth, as it was, turned out to be a _very_ poor idea, as the other two small dogs had let to stop finding undue entertainment in licking his face and something wet entered his mouth, nearly making him gag. The shock, however, worked in his favor as Roderich managed to shove Adler off his lap and scramble to his feet, using the kitchen counter for support as a he covered his mouth with a slender hand, fighting the urge to begin spitting on the spot.

_That was horrid…_ he whimpered silently, quickly moving to the sink, not bothering to hunt for a glass as he turned on the tap and washed his mouth with several handfuls of water.

"_'Walk the dogs,'_ Ludwig says…" Austria began bitterly. "_'It'll be fun!'_ he said, _'and it'll get you out of the house.'_" He rolled his eyes, reaching for a nearby towel and dried his hands, dabbing his mouth to remove and extra water before tossing it back to the counter. _Honestly, I will never understand everyone's fixation with making sure that I get out of the house. It isn't as if I lock myself indoors all the time._

Grimacing, Roderich gave the dogs a look of indifference, then made his way around the kitchen slowly, frowning as it dawned on him he didn't have the slightest idea where the dog leashes were (or plastic bags, for that matter, but the Austrian hoped to avoid this thought until it was absolutely essential.) As the leashes were obviously not in the kitchen near the door, which frustrated Roderich a great deal, seeing as there were hooks near the door and they made a fairly logical location for such an object, he made his way into the hallway, intent on checking Ludwig's study and the hall closet on the way.

"You wouldn't happen to know where they are, would you?" Roderich glanced down at Adler, who'd followed him from the kitchen and down the hall. The dog merely barked quietly in response, the look in its red eyes was amused, and the brunette took note of just how red they were, and the snowy colour of its fur. "Albino and out to get me," he muttered. "Just like your master. That's quite…" A sudden noise cut his words off, and the Austrian froze, his eyes wide.

Violet eyes carefully scanned the surrounding area, as if expecting persons of unknown origins to suddenly pop up. When nothing moved, he scolded himself for being silly and turned the corner at the end of the hallway, blinking as he stared at a set of stairs, the noise he heard earlier suddenly becoming clearer.

"Music…?" He blinked, confused. It was music, of that he was sure. He strained his hearing and leaned forward, an eyebrow quirking upward as he was able to label the instrument. _A violin..._ He frowned, making his way down the hall and toward the stairs, suddenly feeling very irritable. So Ludwig _was_ home, and, if he was home, why on _earth_ had he asked _Roderich_ to take care of his dogs for the day? Perhaps his plans had been canceled?

As Roderich reached the landing halfway up the stairs, he paused, taking a moment to listen to the soft music drifting to him from somewhere upstairs. The notes came in a rush, one immediately following after in a complex and quick melody the Austrian had heard only a few weeks ago when his instructor had asked him to play the very song in order to show off his talents beyond the piano off to a couple of instructors who'd come to visit the academy.

"The Devil's Trill…?" The name escaped his thoughts aloud without Roderich noticing, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. The piece was, of course, beautiful, but extremely difficult to play. The brunette found himself wondering up the stairs in a trance-like state, bewildered at just how well the melody was being played. It was flawless. Perfect. Even he had made one or two mistakes in playing a note too high or too low when he would attempt it, but this… _I didn't know he still played…_

In Hetalia's middle school, a music course had been required for all three years. Students were allowed to choose from band, orchestra, or choir as broad course, and from there, they were divided by level of talent, instrument choice, and in the case of choir, vocal range. Roderich had been whisked into the orchestral division for his seemingly god-given talent with both the piano and various string instruments. Ludwig, like himself, had joined the orchestra as well, opting to play the violin as well, though he was in one of the middle-level groups, where Roderich was among the few elite.

Gilbert, much to Austria's surprise, had taken the band route, choosing to play flute—which he'd never quite been able to wrap his mind around. Still, the albino had been talented, but that was a given. Despite his laziness, the albino had a knack for mastering almost anything he tried—and being a natural born genius only helped. He'd quickly scaled the band ranks and reached the top playing the elegant woodwind, but dropped it as soon as high school started, claiming it was nothing more than an annoyance and he was too "awesome" for it. The choice had frustrated Roderich greatly, and he often wonder if, should be put a little bit of genuine effort into it, Gilbert would be able to steal the rank of top student in the school.

As he entered the training room that he'd tracked as the music's source, he pulled a face. The machines in there were completely barbaric, and set to weight levels that the brunette wouldn't dare dream of attempting to lift. The machines were of varying elements, and positioned on the two sides of the room. Those based for training the lower body on the left, and the upper body on the right. Several dumbbells were scattered across the floor, off the weight tree positioned in the corner of the room, and Roderich scoffed. Gilbert had obviously been in here.

The faint smell of sweat washed over his senses, and he closed his eyes, breathing through his mouth as he allowed the, now much louder, music to sweep over him. The song itself didn't seem the sort of thing Ludwig might have played, but Roderich didn't complain as he found himself moving forward, toward the open window. _Why on the roof…?_ He mused, waiting for the song to finish before he opened his eyes again, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Bizarre location or not, it had been lovely, and, his annoyance with the German for being home forgotten, he leaned out the window, looking for the musician. "That was lovely, Ludwig. I'd thought you ceased playing, but that was simply perfect. I don't think I've ever heard anyone play the song better. I—Gilbert!?"

Said albino jerked around from his position sitting on the roof, eyes wide, making it obvious he'd had no idea Roderich was coming.

Gilbert cursed silently, quickly lowering the violin from his chin and placing it back in its case. Of _all_ the people who could have stumbled upon him playing, it just _had_ to be the very person who'd given it to him. Even Elizabeta would have been better than him, at least she would have just used it as blackmail or something. But for it to be Roderich… he'd never hear the end of it now.

"What the hell are you doing here, four-eyes!? You-!" Gilbert trailed off, watching as Roderich stumbled backward and back into the room beyond the window. He frowned and leaned over, peering back inside just in time to see the brunette trip over one of the dumbbells he'd neglected to put away that morning, and land unceremoniously on his back with a winded yelp of pain.

Groaning quietly, the brunette musician shut his eyes tightly, willing the dancing spots of colors in front of his eyes to go away and the room to stop spinning and become still again. He shoved the weight he'd tripped over feebly with his foot, wincing as the weight moved not more than an inch and simply added a dull throbbing in his foot to join the one in his head. _This is one of the many reasons exercise should be seen as something bad for you…_


	3. Chapter 2

Hello, hello! And here is chapter two. Thank you to everyone who took the time to review to me, and really glad you're all enjoying this story. I'm having a wonderful time writing it, and I'm pleased to report that I've reached the 26-page mark (I've written up to chapter 4 now, but I'm still editing around.)

Um, that's all I really have to say.

And now to answer reviews... (I've never done it this way before.)

**Azeeza:** Gilbert does look good with a violin, ne? The song he was playing is "The Devil's Trill", and it's a wonderful song. I suggest looking it up on YouTube.

**Liebchen-chan:** Thank you kindly. I'm glad you enjoy the weird-fluff and writing here. Gilbo is pretty good at hiding things he doens't want people to know about, huh? Ahaha, and Roderich has always struck me as the natural klutz type, but I'm glad you enjoyed that.

**brobdignagian**:PrussiaxAustria is a great obsession to have. They're such a cute couple... USUK is my favourite, but I encourage your fan-following of this couple. It's wonderful.

**MuffinCatEars:** Thank you for adding me to your alert! Heheh, we all _do_ love Gilbert and his awesome, ne?

**Gosai Ryuu:** It _is_ fun to watch Roddy mess up, huh? It just goes to show, even the most proper of gentleman slip up sometime. For Roderich, it just happens to always be near Gilbert.

**Amethyst DragonRider: **The Devil's Trill is a wonderful song, and utterly beautiful. Let me know what you think of it, okay?

**bella92: **I'm glad I was able to help by explaining the schools ranks. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I've also often noticed that Gilbert play's flute in a lot of fanfics. I liked the idea of Prussia with a flute, and the mental image was very nice. However, I've seen a lot of beautiful pictures of him playing violin while Roderich plays piano with him in the background. Thus... the idea for this story was originally born. From there, I played it out as a roleplay with a friend and I finally pieced things together.

**

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Chapter Two**

"You're not very coordinated, are you, Specs?" Gilbert asked as he swung himself gracefully back through the window. He set the violin case on the floor and hurried forward, worry nibbling at the back of his mind when Roderich didn't sit up and give him a sharp retort for being rude. Halfway there, he realized what he was doing and fixed his expression with a playful smirk before crouching down. "You went down pretty hard."

Roderich opened a wary eye, a light blush dusting his cheeks as the albino leaned further over his fallen form in order to make what he at least assumed was an attempt to get a better look at the pained expression on his face. "No need to help me up," he mumbled, part of him very glad that Gilbert hadn't bothered to offer. The room had yet to stop spinning and he wasn't sure he trusted his legs yet. "You can just laugh at my misfortunes. I'm quite comfortable here on your floor, after your stupid weights tripped me…" The brunette couldn't remember the last time he felt as embarrassed and frustrated as he did at that moment—though he would admit (only to himself) that the bulk of his current emotional package was the embarrassment.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to see you—I am, seriously, that was an _awesome_ fall, totally made my morning—but don't you know it's rude to enter someone's house without permission?" The grin on Gilbert's face seemed to grow and send off its own glow, making the brunette shut his eyes again with an exasperated sigh. "I mean, you're always giving me grief for my manners, but here you are, breaking into my house and spying on me. Gotta say, I never pegged you as the klepto type, Roddy. I know I'm awesome and all, but I'd answer the door if you knocked. Or were you that eager to bask in my presence?"

Roderich's eyes snapped open, a hand flying to his face to adjust his crooked spectacles as he fixed Gilbert with the best glare someone in his position could. "How _dare _you!" he cried, offended. "I would never so much as _consider_ breaking into a house—let alone _yours_ of all people. Your _brother_ left the back door open for my use so that I might walk his dogs for him since he was out with… with…"

"Feliciano?" Gilbert provided usefully, clearly enjoying the Austrian's flustered rage.

"Y-yes! Feliciano. A-anyway, I was _invited._ He said he would be out for most of the day and asked that I take care of the dogs for him—obviously, he didn't trust _you_ with them, and at this point, I can see why."

"No need to get all upset about it," Gilbert frowned. "And West didn't ask me because I'm not supposed to be home."

Roderich quirked an eyebrow in question, a voice in his head telling him it was a mistake to ask.

"I'm supposed to be in detention. Alfred's covering for me on the promise that I keep Francis away from Arthur."

_Of course, I should have known…_ the Austrian thought with a sigh. _I don't think he's ever sat through a full detention. To think, he had the gull to come back home of all places! And just to play the…_ His thoughts trailed off as he blinked, his gaze snapping up to Gilbert's from the floor, unable to hide the excitement in his voice when he next spoke. "When did you learn to play...?"

Gilbert froze, the smirk slipping off his face as he stared at the Austrian blankly. _Shit…_

"You would never take lessons from me…" Roderich continued, sounding hurt at the thought. "You said it was… silly, and a 'waste of your awesome.'" The skill-level in which Gilbert had been playing earlier required practice, and a _lot_ of it. Even the most skilled of professionals had trouble playing with the easy fluidity that the albino had just shown off. Roderich, whom had been in music all his life, knew very well about the hours of hard work that went into perfecting each and every piece a musician played. Gilbert, on the other hand...

Gilbert, at least in Roderich's opinion, was nothing short of God-like (not that he'd admit it aloud, mind you). The albino was good at _everything_. He couldn't remember a time the other had tried something and _not _pulled off something amazing or close to perfection. Well, save for art, but Gilbert had never held much interest in producing any form of art himself, and didn't seem bothered in the slightest that his bizarre doodles were nothing short of bizarre stick figures. Still, outside of hand-drawn media of any sort, the German, who blatantly rejected the true label of being German and claim he was _completely_ Prussian, was _gifted._ Simply gifted, and nothing ever seemed to get in his way or cause him any amount of threat at all… Except perhaps Francis and Ivan, who seemed to be the only people capable of getting under Gilbert's skin, and the latter seemed to unease him a great deal.

"Yeah, well…" the albino scratched the back of his head, looking hesitant about what he wanted to say, something the Austrian wasn't sure he'd ever seen before. "It wasn't as 'unawesome' as I thought it was, and I decided to roll with it. I mean, I was pretty damn good. Even West was impressed… So I kept it up. After all, I was awesome at it. What other reason do I need?"

"You didn't answer my question, Gilbert." Roderich said with a small frown, "I had no idea you were capable of such… impressive skill. Not with the violin, at the very least. I wasn't even aware that you enjoyed the gift. Elizabeta, she said that you enjoyed it more than you let on… but I'd always assumed she was simply trying to comfort me after your rather boorish dismissal of it at your party. I'd seriously considered demanding the gift was returned and getting you something more 'practical', like perhaps a hunting rifle."

Gilbert snorted loudly, grinning. "You of all people should be among the least likely to trust me with a _gun, _specs. Although, I like the idea. That'd be pretty awesome. Keep that one in mind, okay? I have another one coming up. Although, there's nowhere to hunt around here, except at Ivan's house, and I'm pretty sure that it's illegal to hunt another human. I'd have ended up using it in the backyard on squirrels or something." Roderich let out a small noise of terror, and the albino continued. "And I don't know why you thought Elizabeta was just trying to comfort you. She's terrible at it. Besides, you know what they say about assuming, Roddy. It makes an a—"

"_In any case," _the brunette cut him off with a look of disapproval. "Your teacher, whoever they may be, is quite talented, and they taught you well. I'd go so far as to say you're playing at a higher level than your brother did for the years he was in orchestra."

"Aw, Roddy, I'm touched!" Gilbert's smile doubled, and for a moment, the Austrian regretted his words. The others ego was large enough as it was, and he had likely just knocked it up several notches with that little comment. "I didn't know you were capable of complimenting anyone's music who wasn't on part with your own."

"…Ha-ha," Roderich muttered dryly, now feeling very twitchy for having sat on the floor too long. He fixed Gilbert with a stern look, obviously still expecting an answer to his question.

"You know, you don't have to burn a hole in my head," Gilbert muttered mildly, suddenly becoming very interested in one of the weight machines across from him. "I don't know what you're getting so upset about. I learned how to play by watching you, obviously. I can't believe you didn't even notice. Hahaha, man, I'd make an awesome spy."

"You were… watching me?" The Austrian asked quietly, sounding taken aback. Had Gilbert really been watching that intently, and he was too absorbed in his own little world to notice? To learn an instrument by simply watching someone would require a great deal of patience and observation skill that the brunette didn't know that the other was even capable of. He would have had to have been watching since shortly after he'd given him the instrument to be where he was now (though, Roderich would admit to himself with gritted teeth, it was also just as likely Gilbert watched him once, picked the instrument up, and mastered it before bedtime. As aforementioned, Gilbert was God-like in that sense.)

"Are you going to help me up, or do you prefer me on your floor for some reason?"

The second the words had left his mouth, he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. It was quite blatantly stupid. Even stupider than having considered getting Gilbert his own gun for his birthday—and that had been fairly high on the scale of stupid things one could do.

The Austrian didn't need to imagine the horrified looks of Elizabeta or Ludwig to know that he'd just said one of the worst possible combination of words for someone in his position.

No, the smirk on Gilbert's face and the sudden flash of malice in his eyes was enough for that.

"Well…" The albino grinned and took a step forward, making Roderich gulp.

In a flurry of movement much too fast for the brunette's fluttered brain to process, Gilbert had dropped himself to the ground and thrown one of his legs over Roderich's waist, effectively pinning the Austrian to the floor with his hands above his head, leaving them in a position far too suggestive for the brunette's comfort.

"I'll be honest with you, Roddy, I think I like you on the floor." The silverette smirked haughtily, the mischievous look in his eyes changing to something Roderich couldn't properly label. "You look really nice down there, but I gotta admit, I'm curious how much better you'd look down there if you were n—"

**_"Woof!"_** A deep, loud bark from the doorway cut Gilbert off as Adler wandered absently into the room, panting in joy as he trotted toward his master. "Woof!"

"I wasn't going to say anything _that_ bad…" the silverette muttered, giving the dog an offended look. "I'm not _that_ vulgar. Besides, you can't censor awesome! Right, Roddy? …Roddy?"

Below him, Roderich had gone quite stiff, his violet eyes wide and bulging slightly behind his glasses. A light blush dusted the brunette's pale cheeks, and his throat had closed the moment Gilbert had turned his _waist_ into a chair, rendering the Austrian speechless. His face had managed to more than double itself in color by the time he'd regained use of his voice, earning a very amused snort from the silverette.

"Wh-what the _hell_ are you _doing!?_" he asked, his voice reaching a shrill pitch that sounded like a frightened animal. His face had gone several shades darker, and Gilbert was quite sure the brunette had invented a new shade of red. Roderich couldn't remember that last time he'd been more grateful toward anyone as he was to the albino's 'wolf' for having stopped the silverette from saying what he'd been about to say. The Austrian was flustered enough, and he didn't need anything making it harder to think then it already was, and the voice in the back of his head telling him that he was disappointed with the sudden stop in speech did nothing to calm him either.

"Well, I'd said I was sitting on you," Gilbert grinned, adjusting his position so that was now completely straddling the brunette's waist, and tightened his grip on the brunette's hands. "Except I'm not really sitting, seeing as my ass isn't touching anything… So I'm going to have to go with either pinning or straddling—and might I add you're quite comfortable. You should be glad the Awesome—and that's with a capital 'A', mind you—has allowed you to be his pillow."

"Gilbert!!!" Roderich cried, fixing the albino with the best glare he could (which was much more difficult than he wanted to admit, seeing as all the blood had recently rushed to his head.) "Get _off_ me, this _instant!_ You're acting completely childish! This is intolerable…! W-who do you think you are just… just… _sitting_ on me, you… you… big… stupid _idiot!_"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, the amused smirk on his face twitching slightly as he watched Roderich sputter. The look on Roderich's face was completely comical, and had he not had the self-restraint he had (and he had a fair amount, he just neglected to put it to use for the most part) he would have laughed. But laughing often caused one to lose the control they had on their muscles, and Gilbert couldn't risk losing his hold on the Austrian, not right now. Part of him wanted to call the flushed look 'sexy', but even someone like himself with more ego and self-confidence than should be humanly possible knew that was a bad idea. He happened to like his vital regions very much, and he wouldn't put it past Roderich to give him a good kick for pushing the wrong buttons too many times (after all, if Elizabeta never hesitated when hitting him with a frying pan, why would Roderich hold back in kicking him?)

Below him, the Austrian was silently fuming. All the embarrassment, frustration, anger, and utter horror with the situation was quickly bottling up in the brunette's chest and threatening to escape. The violet-eyed male was sure that, any moment now, the albino would leap to his feet and tease him mercilessly for how easily he'd fallen into his trap, and simply _not_ let it go for only God knew how long. And to make matters worse, as soon as he got bored with the situation, he'd find a new means of making him miserable. Yet, for some reason, the idea of Gilbert laughing at the situation seemed to hit Roderich the hardest and he snapped.

"Gilbert Weillschmidt! You have gone too far this time! I can't believe that even _you_ would stoop this low! You're acting just as bad as Francis! Did you honestly take what I said as an invitation to act like a complete and utter _moron_ just as everyone says you are!? I—argh! I can't believe I used to stick my neck out and _defend _you, arguing that you weren't the simpleton that you acted out to be. Well, thank you very much, because I can see that was a _huge_ mistake now. Get off, and leave me the hell alone, Gilbert… and **_stop_** calling me RODDY!"

The smirk slowly fell from Gilbert's face, replaced with a look of mild surprise, and even hints of pain dancing in his unusual crimson eyes. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from speaking, he wasn't sure he trusted his voice at the moment. The look on Roderich's face was livid, and for a brief moment, the albino almost regretted his actions. He smiled sadly, and even somewhat apologetically, as he leaned forward, a small wave of relief washing over him as the brunette gasped softly, color blossoming over his features again.

"…You stood up to me, Roddy?" His grip slackened slightly, and he edged forward more. _For you to actually stand up to someone instead of ignoring them… I guess I mean something to you after all, huh?_

"I…" Roderich faltered. He hadn't meant to admit that. It was bad enough he had to allow Elizabeta come to his rescue at several points (not because she was a female and was defending him, a male, but because a lady shouldn't have to fight against anyone, regardless of gender) but for Gilbert to have found out, and from him of all people… The teasing was going to double in power now, he was sure of it.

"…So no calling you 'Roddy', huh?" Gilbert asked, moving on. Roderich's reaction had been enough for the silverette to get his answer, a light warm forming in his chest at the image of Roderich shouting at someone twice his size for having bad-mouthed him. "That's no fun… I like Roddy. What about _Rod,_ then? That's short. Or maybe _Dick._ Or is that only used for Richard these days? Oh, but wait, you use that weird-ass spelling for your name. So I guess that wouldn't work…"

"My _name,_" the brunette began, sounding exasperated, "is _Roderich._ If you cannot remember something that simple, or are incapable of using such a long name, then I'd be very appreciative if you simply refrained from talking to me at all."

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Ludwig entered his house in a foul mood. The door was slammed shut behind him with more force than required, and he had to hold back the urge to punch the wall nearest him. Feliciano was an idiot, and that's all there was to it. Not only had the Italian shown up _late_, but he'd brought his _older brother_ along. Now, it wasn't as if he had anything against Romano (though the tomato fetish was a bit strange). In fact, he thought that, despite his temper, the brunette was a fine older brother. He was somewhat skiddish at points, and utterly terrified of Francis (though the blond didn't blame him for that), but a good brother all the same. Still, whatever he seemed to try, the elder of the Italian brothers _hated_ Ludwig—and only God knew what he'd done to earn that.

However, in all fairness, the German had to admit that it was entirely possible that Romano—Or was it Lovino? Ludwig really wasn't sure which was the brunette's real name, he'd heard both, and it was very, very confusing.— had gotten wind that he and Feliciano had a date (Ludwig blushed at the idea and blatantly refused to refer to it as such) and demanded to Feliciano that he be brought along for reasons the German didn't even bother attempting to figure out.

All in all, it had been a terrible day, and Ludwig simply wanted to forget it had ever happened.

"I'm going to train until I can't stand anymore…" he muttered, trudging up the stairs slowly. "I just want to go to sleep and pretend today didn't happen." With a heavy sigh, Ludwig turned as he reached the top of the stairs and took the short walk down the hallway, stopping in front of the weight room. "…Stupid Feliciano."

Grabbing the handle, he opened the door and stepped inside. He could't remember the last time he'd regretted walking into a room more.

"B-bruder!?"

"West!"

Ludwig gasped sharply, his jaw dropping several inches as he stared at the scene before him in horror. His brother, his _older_ brother, was lying in the middle of the floor, _on top_ of their Austrian neighbor and classmate, who looked far too flushed and dazed for the German's liking. His mouth worked wordlessly as he tried to piece together something, any form of logic that might explain the current situation, but he found none. His mind had gone completely blank.

"Wh-wh…"

"Oi, West! Whatever happened to knocking, eh? You're always lecturing me that I never knock before entering a room with a closed door. Practice what you preach, brother."

Ludwig blinked. Once, twice, a third time, and then shut his eyes, counting to three once more before opening them again. Sadly, the scene he had hoped was some bizarre creation of his depressed mind hadn't disappeared. Gilbert was still glaring at him from Roderich's waist, but at least the brunette had the decency to _appear_ embarrassed. Although, honestly, Ludwig had a feeling that the Austrian was only half aware that someone else was in the room, what with his brother's rather attention-consuming method of distraction.

"Excuse me," he muttered, turning and walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him. "Air. I need… air."

Stumbling back down the hallway in a daze, the German made his way downstairs and back toward the front door, intent on taking a very, _very_ long walk. Perhaps down the road and down to the beach. From there, he could simply walk off the dock and solve both his Feliciano problem, and the images of his brother and neighbor flashing before his eyes far too clearly for his liking.

_"Why me…?"_


	4. Chapter 3

Hello, hello! Yet another chapter coming up from me. I know you're all probably sick of me at this point, but I hope you'll all stick around a little longer. I'm debating over if I want to end the story with simply Gilbert and Roddy getting together, or continuing it to a few events and ideas I have for after that. I suppose I'll leave it up to you guys, ne? Be sure to review and vote!!!

Also; thank you to everyone who added this story to their favourite's/alerts! It means so much!!!

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**REVIEW TIME!**

**Animesque:** I know, I know... I was cruel to Ludwig. I really do like him... He's had such a hard life, especially with a brother like Gilbert... but things will get better for him. Maybe. I'm glad you like the combination in which I'd put the story together. I hope this chapter is as good as the rest for you.  
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Hazel-Beka:** I'm glad you like this story so far. I really am... I thought that the AU idea might be a little cliche', but I'm really glad people are going with it anyway. Gilbert playing the violin is pretty awesome, and if you look around, you may stumble across some fanart with him playing one. He always looks so... elegant. Especially if Roddy is there playing the piano. And I think I know what you're talking about when you mentioned Yami no Matsuei... I remember seeing an AMV for the song on YouTube. And Roderich really *should* be careful, huh? And not to worry, Ludwig's day will get better... at some point. ...I think.

**Formidonis:** ...Hold on, why are you complimenting this story? You helped -write- this story! See this, everyone? Formidonis is such a noble person. Despite the fact that he was the other person in the RP (he played Roderich and Ludwig on the forum) he seems to be trying to give me all the credit for this brilliantness. Sure, I've done some heavy editing, but the idea for this story came from us working together! But really, thank you for the review.

**Cornyie:** I'm glad you liked the story, and I thank you for pointing out all the typos. I went back and I'm fairly sure I caught all the ones you pointed out, but I'm glad they didn't take away from the story for you. It was quite kind of you do to so. -gives you a Gilbert-shapped cookie-

**Isabella and me: **Actually, I originally planned for Hungary to make a random appearance. Sadly, seeing as this follows the AU storyline instead of the Hetalia-universe where chracters can pop out of the nearest man-hole and bush, I couldn't think of a realistic reason for her to appear in the house without keeping her there for a while. And that would take away from the fluff.

**bella92:** I know~ Finally got some action into the story. I think Gilbert loved sitting on Roderich, too. And I enjoyed Ludwig's part, too... But I'm not so sure Ludwig did.

**Liebchen-chan:** It was to be expected... -sigh- Ludwig, because of you... we were all denied our fluff. Silly German-boy. Ahaha, the fact that they stayed in the same position almost the entire chapter was actually an accident. I didn't realize just how long they were there until it was done, but I decided to leave it as it was. After all, what's better than the mental image of Gilbert sitting on Roddy? (Well, I guess Alfred on Arthur might be better, but...)

**Niex:** Good to know my ridiculous attention-span for writing has made you happy. And I really hope you enjoy this chapter as well~

**MuffinCatEars: **Ah, your username makes me giggle. It's so cute. I really don't know if Romano's name is Romano or Lovino, but I could see Ludwig getting seriously frustrated with trying to figure it out. Don't worry, you'll get your wish soon. After all, we all know Gilbert wants a kiss just as bad as -we- want him to get one. Alder will be a good boy from now on, he was just sympathizing with Roddy for now.

**Azzeeza:** Wow, I've gotten so many reviews to reply to this time~ -happy- But I'm not sick of your reviews at all! In fact, I'm so flattered that you keep coming back. You have no idea how much reviews mean to me--especially from the same person for alter chapters. It lets me know my writing really is worth something to people other than myself. Ludwig really does need a hug, huh? Maybe Feliciano will give him one at some point...

**Amethyst DragonRider:** Oh... Your username is cool. Poor Ludwig indeed... The Devil's Trill is a -very- complicated song, but it's also beautiful. It fits Prussia very well, huh?

**Gosai Ryuu:** Yay! Another postive view on my chapter! I'm so glad you like Gilbert and Roderich in this story. Those two were my biggest worry. I thought I was writing them so far out of chracter I was doing something really wrong. I'm fairly confident with my Prussia, and other people seem to enjoy how I write them, but... Well.. in any case. Don't worry, Gilbo the Awesome always comes through in the end, right? Even if he annoys the hell out of everyone in the process. Things really will get better for Ludwig. Honestly. ...It just might take a while.

**Werewolf by Death:** Gosh, I must sound like a broken record by now, but I'm really glad you enjoy this story. I'm glady ou enjoyed Roderich's flustered rage. It was fun to write. And yes... Poor, poor Ludwig. Italy needs to give him a hug and make it all better... And don't apologize! You're review made my day a little brigther, and they make me all the more eager to update to see what you all thing. I love to write for people.

**Brobdingnagian:** I really hope I typed your name right... Ludwig appreciates your sympathy and pets, but I think he really wants a hug from Italy. Ahaha. Still, I'd -love- to have an older brother like Gilbert. That would make my life so, so, SO much better. I'm actually going to be cosplaying Prussia myself soon (I finally decided on a design I like.) USxUK is my OTP for Hetalia, but since I collabed The Rebel and The Redcoat with Formidonis a while back, I felt I needed to do something with another pairing.  
And Gilbert -is- God-like and perfect. he just happens to be, you know... somewhat demonic as well. Gilbert strikes me as the Lelouch/Raito type. A lazy genius who could do anything they wanted if they put just a little effort into it.

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**Chapter Three**

Roderich had barely registered the sound of someone opening and closing the door of the room he was currently in, his mind stuck somewhere between pleasure, horror, embarrassment, and pain. The brunette had tried to _wiggle_ out of Gilbert's grasp, but the moment be moved, he'd realized just how bad of an idea that was. His blush had died down, but it had only been due to the fact that most of it had rushed to a new location on his body, and he could only pray that the albino holding him hadn't noticed.

_"West!"_

Roderich blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "West" was a bizarre nickname that only Gilbert used when speaking or referring to his brother. The albino had claimed it was a perfectly good nickname, as, unlike himself, Ludwig had been born on the western side of Germany. No one truly understood the reasoning behind it, but the name had been used since the two brother's had been young, and Ludwig answered when Gilbert used it, so no one questioned it. In return, the blond often referred to the silverette as "East", blatantly refusing to call him "Prussia", and ignoring his brother's claims that he'd been born there. It forced the younger to reassure people that the elder had simply been born in Eastern Germany and read one too many history books on the fallen nation.

It was then that realization slammed into Roderich with the force of an eighteen wheeler. Gilbert had said _West,_ which meant…

Before the thought could finish, he heard a muttered, "Excuse me," and something about air, followed by the sound of a door slamming and hurried footsteps. _Oh no…_

Fortunately, at least for Roderich, Ludwig's momentarily entrance had proved distraction enough for Gilbert, as his grip on the brunette had loosened considerably. He moved one of his legs, pulling it to his chest and using it as leverage to shove Gilbert upward. Sadly, his mind's vision of the event had been much more effective (and somewhat comical), as he'd managed to gather the strength to shove the albino hard enough to send him through the wall behind him and a far enough distance away that he wouldn't be able to bother him any longer.

Reality was much harsher, however, and the brunette only managed to push Gilbert up a few inches, but that was enough. Using the little room he had, the brunette scrambled backward, stumbling to his feet and out into the hall, trying to ignore the faint sense of irritation that he felt at Ludwig for having entered the room in the first place. After all, there was absolutely no possible way that he was _upset_ that, whatever it was the albino had been planning to do hadn't happened. Absolutely none.

Unfortunately, where there was reality, there were often things such as fate, irony, and other such cruel ideals. As it was, they all seemed to have it in for Roderich today. The brunette had barely made it a few feet across the room before he tripped over yet another weight randomly distributed across the room's floor. He fell forward, arms flailing as he grabbed for the door's handle and threw it open, managing to both jump and fall out of the room at the same time, grasping the wall desperately for support as he shouted down the stairs.

"Ludwig! Your stupid-! I'm going to _kill_ you! And your stupid dogs, too!" His face was once again the yet-to-be-discovered shade of red, and his clothes felt uncomfortably too tight and the room far too warm.

Back in the room, Gilbert sighed in disappointment. He'd been so close, too.

Standing up, the albino muttered darkly under his breath about 'cock-blocking brothers' and stepped into the hallway, watching Roderich's flustered protests toward his brother, who he was quite sure was likely almost a block away from the house by now, and waited for the brunette to take notice of his presence again.

"This… this is all your fault!" The Austrian said, pointing an accusatory finger at Gilbert. "If you hadn't… hadn't…"

"Sat on you?"

"…Acted like a _child,_" Roderich said loudly, feeling his cheeks heat up just a little more. "Then none of this would have happened."

"Probably not," Gilbert admitted with a nod. "But what would the fun in that be? Live a little, Roddy."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that!"

"You did," the albino smirked. "I'm invoking my right to not care and ignore your orders."

"Gilbert-!" Roderich was cut off abruptly as the albino stepped forward, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"You know, I really wouldn't threaten the dogs if I were you. West gets way too defensive when it comes to them. You're not exactly a _complete_ pushover, but I highly doubt you could take West, and even my ego isn't big enough to get in his way when he's pissed—Not that I couldn't take him. I totally could, because I'm awesome, and older."

The fact that his reasoning held little sense didn't seem to matter as Gilbert slid the arm around Roderich's shoulders down his back, locking it around the brunette's waist and earning an amused squeak. The silverette merely grinned in response and tugged Roderich closer, leading him down the hall.

While he didn't want to admit it, what Gilbert said had been true on at least one account. He _couldn't_ take Ludwig, or Gilbert for that matter. In an honest fight with no tricks (the tricks would, of course, have to come from him), his only hope for winning would be if whichever one he was fighting grew tired of punching him and fell asleep (of course, he'd also have to work up the strength to stand up, first.)

"Anyway, you really should calm down, Roddy," Gilbert said, stopping outside a new door at the end of the hall that Roderich couldn't remember having been there before. "Stress isn't good for you. It gives you wrinkles and you'll look like an old man before you hit thirty—not that you don't already look like a stuck-up aristocrat—but the point is, you need to calm down and breathe a bit."

Roderich's thoughts, which had started a downward spiral the moment Gilbert's hand had started sliding down his waist, froze in place, the self-proclaimed Prussian's words echoing in his mind. _W-wrinkles?!_

"I don't have wrinkles you big, stupid-!"

"Ta-daaa!" Gilbert said dramatically, throwing open the door of the room he'd dragged Roderich toward. A hand was thrust forward with a small wave, as if small shimmering lights might explode form his fingers and give the sight before them a little more 'pizzazz'.

Roderich froze violet eyes wide behind his glasses as he gaped openly at the room before them.

It was _huge,_built in an "L" shape that seemed much too large for it to have been a room originally. The carpet was a deep, royal blue, with pale white walls, three of them boasting paintings of famous musicians, while the fourth held the flags of Germany, Prussia (Roderich almost rolled his eyes at this), and Austria. To the left of the door was a large table, covered in various sheet music and worn music books (many of which, Roderich noted, appeared to be for the flute and violin.) On the far right side of the room were several guitars, each painted to match the respective flag that they sat in front of. Several large amps sat next to the guitars, their knobs silver in color, sparkling softly under the ceiling lights. Another table sat a few feet away from the guitars, several books of music for the violin scattered across its surface, and a music stand and chair sitting in front of it.

Breath-taking as the room was, what caught Roderich's immediate attention was the large, black grand piano sitting in the center of the room. It was beautiful, it's surface perfectly polished, reflecting the light of the room almost mirror-like. On the side, the name _Fazioli_ stood out against the obsidian surface in silver cursive letters.

"Amazing," the Austrian muttered, stepping further into the room, glancing around in awe. "Gilbert, this is… simply amazing. It… You have so much room in here, it's… so big." He took another step forward, unconsciously moving toward the piano, almost as if pulled by an invisible force before turning to face Gilbert, who'd just shut the door and moved to set his violin on the far table. "I had no idea you and your brother enjoyed music so much… I… Until now, I didn't even know you still played."

Gilbert shrugged nonchalantly, avoiding the brunette's eyes as he spoke. "Yeah, well… Of course it's amazing; it's fucking awesome. I designed this room myself—and it took _forever_ to convince West to let me do it, too. Do you know how much it costs to pay a bunch of idiots to come knock down a wall!? West had a fit when he saw all the mess. The only reason he didn't have my head was because it was _my_ room that was being shrunk to make this place."

Roderich blinked, looking at Prussia in confusion. _He… gave up part of his room for this?_

"Yeah, I know. Awesome of me, huh? My room got cut in half to make this one bigger—and you'd better be grateful for my sacrifice. West was gonna let me turn this room into a mini paint-ball or laser-tag arena, but instead, I threw this fancy-pants music room together for you. So I'd better get a frickin' thank you."

"You… did all this for me?" The brunette asked, his tone torn between bewilderment and flattery. "You… bought all these wonderful things… for me? You gave up shooting paint-balls so that I could play these when I…"

The albino nodded, grabbing a music book at random and flipping through the pages without looking up.

"But… why?"

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Just as he was about to leave the house and got for a very, very long walk, Ludwig paused, a small frown tugging at the corners of his lips. The full effect of Roderich's words had just hit him. The brunette had _threatened_ not only himself, but his _dogs._

Sapphire eyes narrowed in distaste as the blond turned away from the door abruptly and started back toward the stairs. He didn't care if his brother was attempting to "invade Vital Regions" or whatever it was he called it. Insulting his precious pups was an unforgivable act, and Ludwig was going to make sure Roderich knew that. His eyes darkened as he made his way up the stairs, his hand hands balled tightly into fists, ready to throw a punch the moment he saw a flash of brunette hair.

As he reached the landing, the German could vaguely hear a voice down the hallway, coming from the room that Gilbert had spent more time and money outfitting than any form of project he ever remembered his brother working on in both their lifetimes. He remembered faintly something about the albino mentioning that the room was for the Austrian, but he didn't care. He approached the door anyway and grabbed the handle, ready to throw the wooden barrier up, when whatever the brunette Austrian was saying suddenly became clearer.

_"… amazing... Gilbert. And... it... so big..."_

Ludwig froze, eyes wide as he stared at the door's surface in shock. _Then again…_ he thought, taking a step away from the door. _Maybe I should take that walk first,_ _I… No, that won't do._ The German frowned and stepped toward the door again, reaching for the handle. _I cannot allow him to get away with such a foul act!_

_"…wonderful things... give... balls... I… play…"_

Letting go of the handle as if electrocuted, Ludwig turned and walked briskly back down the hall, his face going white as a sheet, before blooming bright crimson. He took the stairs three at a time, stumbling as he reached the first floor landing, but never stopped as he opened the front door and slammed it behind him.

_A very, very, **very**, long walk…_ he said to himself, not daring to allow himself to think what it was he could have possibly almost walked in on. _Very long. Perhaps to another city…_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"You haven't answered me yet, Gilbert," Roderich said, a small frown on his face. "Why did you… do all this? I can't imagine you of all people giving something like a personal paint-ball room—as barbaric as I find the sport—away without reason. …Why?"

With a small shrug, Gilbert moved forward, stepping around the brunette and approached the piano. A pale hand trailed over the polished surface of the keyboard cover, before moving down to the bench. He gripped the velvet plush cushion firmly, giving it a small tug, revealing that it was hinged and held a fairly deep compartment within. The compartment itself was split in two, the left half with a large pile of printed sheet music, each song neatly paper-clipped together, while the right held a large stack of piano books of varying difficulties.

_What is he doing…?_ Roderich thought with a small frown, watching the silverette's movements. It was a bizarre feeling, after having seen the room. Even if Gilbert hadn't said that it was meant for him, for some reason, all of the worries he'd previously had after the embarrassing event in the weight room had faded, replaced with the surprising realization of just how much he'd missed spending time with the albino in front of him. Gilbert was, of course, reckless, and there were times when he wasn't the easiest person to get along with, and others where the brunette simply wanted to wring the crimson-eyed man's neck.

Gilbert was utterly wild, impulsive, and many other things that most would consider "bad" qualities. Yet, at the same time, the silverette was very passionate about what he believed in, very honest, hard working (despite the brunette's belief that Gilbert was naturally good at everything, he would admit that, when the self-proclaimed Prussian wanted something, he wouldn't give up until he got it), and _never_ boring. One would always know where they stood with the albino, for better or for worse, and often in Roderich's case, both.

The albino never did anything by what one might consider "the norm", and he always, _always_ cared about what he was doing, or he didn't bother putting the effort forward to do it. Given that, as he looked around the room once more, the Austrian felt refreshed and flattered. To think Gilbert, who held his precious younger brother in the highest of regards, would fight to make himself, Roderich, a room like this… it gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his chest that both comforted and discomfited him.

Grabbing one of the books at random, Gilbert's crimson eyes lingered over the music stand attached to the piano for a moment before opening to page in the center and setting the book down, catching a few of the lose sheets from the book before they fell, and placing them back on the stand. His face twisted in pain for several seconds as the back of the stand was covered, before he shook his head and sat down on the far end of the bench, gesturing for Roderich to join him, looking only faintly surprised when the brunette actually did.

"Why…?" the albino finally spoke, his fingers resting on the keyboard cover once more. "I suppose there _was_ a reason…" he trailed off, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He didn't have to see the Austrian's face to know he was getting impatient with his lack of an answer.

The albino lifted the cover with ease, pushing it back until it was completely out of the way. His eyes lingered over the sheet music for a moment, before he moved his fingers into position, playing the first few measures slowly, his pale fingers holding little more skill than that of a beginner player. Gilbert sighed softly and pulled his hands away, shaking his head. "I haven't played one of these since that time you tried to force me to learn when we were kids."

Austria could only gape at Gilbert. For someone who hadn't played in over ten years, the fact that Gilbert had been able to play, if only a few measures, of the song in front of them, it only strengthened Roderich's 'Gilbert has God-like talent' theory. He'd played the music slowly, but it had been flawless.

"How about a deal?" Gilbert suddenly spoke, pulling Roderich out of his thoughts.

"A deal?" the brunette scoffed, "Of course. It wouldn't be you without a reward."

"A reward…?" the albino chuckled weakly, shaking his head. "I'm not so sure it's going to be much of a reward."

Frowning, the Austrian turned on the bench to get a better look at the other. His shoulders were slumped, and the only emotion he could detect in the crimson eyes was sorrow. The look on his face was almost completely blank, the corners of his pale lips pulled up into a vague shell of a smile. It was all so un-Gilbert like that Roderich began to worry. How had the albino gone from that cocky display in the weight room to this?

"I'll answer your question, but the deal is, you have to answer mine first." Roderich had opened his mouth to reply, but Gilbert didn't seem to care. He wasn't looking at the brunette, and somehow the Austrian felt even if he'd said 'no' he would have pressed forward anyway. "Tell me, Roddy, when did you stop playing your music?"

"I haven't—"

Gilbert frowned and shook his head, his tone turning faintly annoyed. "I wasn't done—and that's a lie. I've seen you in the music room at the university, playing the same stupid songs over and over again for your idiot of a professor."

"He's not a—"

"I've seen you sitting at the piano, and pushing the keys, but tell me why you stopped playing _music?_ When did you stop putting your feelings into your songs? When… when did your music stop sounding like it did when we were kids, and become so hollow?" _He can't honestly think I didn't notice…_ "First you stopped playing things from your precious Austrian composers… and then you stopped playing all together. Now that we're in college… it sounds even emptier than before. You can make noise, sure—and nice sounding noise at that… but it isn't music. It's just _noise_. …Why is that, Roderich? What happened to you?"


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Woo! Another chapter for you all! Sorry this took so long. My BETA took a while to send this back to me because it's so long. Hopefully it's length will make up for the slow update, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as you seem to have been enjoying the other chapters.

**EDIT:** So... yeah. I fixed the typos in the review replies, and I got rid of that double paragraph. Whoops, that was a _really_ bad mistake.

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**Hazel-Beka:** You know, I think I had a mini-heart attack when I realized who you were. Honestly~ I never thought I'd get a review from an author I respect so much (and to think, it didn't click when you reviewed before, wow. I feel so lame now... XD It just hit me today when I was reading your update while working on this chapter.) But I thank you for your kind words. I was a bit worried that I didn't describe the room well enough when I originally wrote the chapter, but if it gives a good mental image to those who read it, that's enough for me. Although, I thought that only Gilbert noticing about Roderich's music would really say something about how much he cares--even if his way of showing it is well... Gilbert-ish. And don't worry, I laugh at Ludwig's pain to (even as I'm writing it) because he's just that much fun to torment. I should treat him to wurst later...

**Compleatly Random Dissorder: **I don't think I've ever gotten an "Awesomesauce" in a review to ANY of my stories (and I've posted about 42 of them.) Thank you, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

**kleptowerewolf:** Thank you~ I'm glad you think Gilbert's "awesomeness" is coming out alright. I've always worried I don't write him in-character enough, and I tend to re-write his scenes too many times than should be considered healthy. Still, I'm very glad you're enjoying the story and I hope this chapter is just as good for you.  
**  
gwendal's wife**: Do I sense a Kyou Kara Maou fan here...? That's what your penname reminds me of, anyway. I've always been a very stubborn GermanyItaly fan myself, but even so, I'm glad I've gained your interest (even with GermanyAustria as your OTP. I'm always thrilled to know my writing is good enough to pull something like that off.) I do hope I haven't caused you a sore throat with all that squealing though... Talk to Roderich, he should have the cough drops. Lemon-mint flavoured~  
AND YES! Formidonis is a WONDERFUL Austria, and it's because of him that I can write him in this story. He really is amazing, and I swear, he needs more people to tell him that. And thank you so much for telling me I can pull off Prussia... That pleases me more than I can explain.

**Corvyie:** You should enjoy that cookie with hounour. I made them with Prussia~ That makes the best kind of cookie. I'm really glad that someone else reading this can really understand what I was aiming for with the feelings in music. I can play several instruments myself (beginner to intermediate levels for the various ones) so it's good to know that I'm doing -something- right. And I'm not sick of your reviews at all--or the compliments. -laughs- I love to know people enjoy what I write.  
**  
RoboPhantom:** No... Unfortunately, Ludwig just can't win. The poor boy... We all -do- enjoy tormenting him a little too much. We really should make it up to him.

**Werewolf by Death:** Beware the cliffhangers~ Falling off them hurts.  
As for that line... I think I was trying to say that Roderich was torn between delight and disappointment that Gilbert hadn't finished what he started. (Meaning he -wanted- it to be done, but didn't want to admit to it.) Does that help?

**Azeeza:** Hopefully this chapter will make up for all my cliffhangers. And don't worry... Ludwig won't have that heartattack. Yet. But that's a good idea~ You'll find out "why" Roddy is sad in this chapter, though.

**Gosai Ryuu:** I'm glad you liked the chapter. I was hoping to poke at the emotions a little bit in that one, but I think this one is one big sob-story. Hopefully it'll be enjoyable for you. Still, I totally agree. Gilbo is a smart guy, he's just a bit lazy.  
**  
Liebchen-chan: **... ... ...You know what? That -would- be better. Hungary would die of the yaoi-tastic joy, and fangirls around the world would run to the room with cameras. The die of blood loss. Hahaha. And yes... Poor Ludwig. He's just... not having a good day, is he? I blame France. Because I can.

**AbyssDP:** Anon, review~ I do hope you stop by again to read this more. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Animesque:** Yeah... I think everyone feels sorry for Ludwig at this point. The poor boy... Things just don't seem to be going well for him. They get better in this chap--No, wait. No they don't. Nevermind. But yes, Gilbert was the main player in the chapter, huh? He really seems to love Roddy~

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Roderich went rigid. His violet eyes were wide, locked somewhere near Gilbert's chin, unable to look the albino in the eye. _How on earth did he notice?_ The brunette's asked himself quietly, unable to find a single answer. How was it that Gilbert, one of the most obnoxious and seemingly self-centered persons Roderich had ever met, notice something that no one else had? Not his family, or his friends, or even his instructors—the very people who encouraged such things in their pupils music.

As of recent times, he'd been getting more and more compliments from his teachers for his amazing and still growing technical competence. The overly enthusiastic accolades had only increased in number as his style was stripped bare of any and all emotions, leaving it just as it was; notes on a sheet to be played. Instead of being scolded for the lack of heart in his playing, all those around him had offered praise and rewards as he practiced more, and cared less. In the empty void he had created for himself, he'd thought that he was safe, that he would be alright, but somehow, _Gilbert_ had _known_. _Gilbert_ had noticed what _no one_ else had… and he'd finally decided to take action.

"I…" Roderich began quietly when he finally regained use of his voice. "I, ah... hadn't realized you'd heard me." He trailed off, not knowing what to say or do. It wasn't that he didn't know the answer to Gilbert's question. No, he knew why all too well, but it wasn't something that he wished to talk about. He never expected that a time would come where he would need, or even want, to talk about it, least of all with someone like Gilbert. Nothing against his silver-haired friend, but of all the people he knew, he never expected the albino to have noticed so much, simply by watching him. Yet if the Prussian had gone through all the trouble of fighting with his brother, gathering the funds, and then designing such a beautiful room, all for him, then the least Roderich could do was be honest with him. If not the whole truth, then part of it.

_Then again,_ Roderich thought as he moved to sit down beside the other, gazing blankly at the keys. _He learned how to play the violin simply by watching me. Given that, he must have been paying much closer attention then I'd thought._

He chanced a glance to the right, and was surprised to see Gilbert looking at him with his legs and arms crossed, waiting quietly. The look in the albino's face was blank, his crimson eyes holding a gentle light in them that the Austrian had never noticed before. He had not said a word since Roderich had started speaking, and it occurred to the brunette that, for the first time that he could remember, Gilbert was waiting patiently for him to continue. The silverette was _listening_, carefully taking in every word he was saying.

Sighing softly, Roderich turned his attention back to the music Gilbert had set down earlier, reading through the first page by sight, before shutting his eyes and easily reciting what was on the page from memory. The sound was perfect, each note played exactly as it was meant to, with not a single sound out of place. When he finished, he opened his eyes and laid his hands in his lap, waiting in silence for several moments before he finally spoke. "Good music comes from the heart of the player, and goes back to the heart of both them and those listening. That's… how I used to feel. It's what makes music so special—so unique. It's something that anyone can do with a little practice, and that everyone can enjoy together. It bypasses all logical thought and reason, and heads straight for our emotions. Music can make us remember happier times, and forget things we want to avoid. It lets us imagine the impossible, wish, and even dream. Be it happy, sad, angry, or confused… music should always make you feel _something_. After all, that's how all great composers felt, and still feel. I loved them all for that, and respected them greatly; perfect Chopin and dreamy Haydn, dramatic Mozart, and romantic Strauss…"

A small smile flickered across Roderich's face as his eyes lit up with memories of happier times in his life, but it was gone as soon as it had come, and the joyous times were replaced by darker, painful ones. He leaned forward, resting his crossed arms on his knees, a dark look on his face as he pressed forward. "However, things changed, they—No, that isn't the case. I grew up, that is the best means of putting it. I stopped allowing myself to believe in the illusion of the happy lies I'd created for myself. I came to realize… there is no such thing as a 'happy ending' in this life. There are no villains, and there are no heroes. Simply people existing in a world together full of misguided truths and illusory happiness… It's all fake, something we've lead ourselves to believe in… and there is most certainly no such thing as love. It is… simply foolish to believe otherwise."

As Roderich spoke, he sounded so certain and matter-of-factly about it all. His face was still dark, but he kept it steady, not allowing any of the sorrow tugging at his stomach and chest to cross it. He likely sounded melodramatic, but he didn't care much at that point. It was easy for him to hide things from Gilbert—at least, to an extent, it seemed—but to lie to him… of that, the Austrian was sure he wouldn't be able to do. Never in all his twenty-four years had he been able to look the albino in the face and lie to him. There was something about his eyes, the brilliant and very unique crimson eyes that seemed to pierce Roderich's soul every time he looked at them, and the moment he tried to tell anything short of the truth to the owner of those eyes, his words would die in his throat.

"…I just don't care about music anymore. Not like I used to, at the very least. I'll continue to play, of course. For my family, and for my scholarship, and perhaps my friends, should they request it. However, for myself… No, not anymore." The brunette finally looked up, violet eyes moving slowly over the beautiful piano Gilbert had bought for _him._ Fazioli was not a name any pianist would look over easily; they were expensive, and among the best on the market. Just _finding_ one was a challenge by itself, and the one the silverette had somehow managed to buy—let alone find—was truly a work of art. There was a time when simply gazing at an instrument of its splendor would have made Roderich's heart sing at the thought of being able to play it, but now…

He shook his head, trailing his slender fingers across the keyboard slowly, pausing at notes as they appeared on the sheet music, but never added the pressure to make noise. The idea of such a beautiful piano going unused, and to simply sit in a room collecting dust made the brunette feel forlorn, a faint feeling of regret tugging at his chest. Still, he knew he would never be able to do the instrument any justice, and he closed the lid quietly, shaking his head. "I can play almost any instrument you hand me, and I'll play the songs you want… but you have to _feel_ music, Gilbert." He turned, looking at the albino with an unreadable expression, his deep eyes reflecting the sadness his face wouldn't' show. "…And I don't. I'm sorry."

Beside the Austrian, Gilbert blinked slowly. The corners of his mouth twitched as he waited silently for several seconds longer, waiting to see if the other had anything else to say. When nothing came, he shifted his position, straightening his back and scooting forward slowly, closing the few inches of space between them on the long bench, and earning a small noise of surprise from Roderich.

In truth, Gilbert had not expected an answer from the brunette at all. He thought his question would have been blown off and ignored (as so many had before) and violet-eyed male would have simply demanded that Gilbert leave him alone to play his so-called 'music.' His Austrian friend had never been the open-book type, but he'd also never struck the silverette as the manic-depressive type, either. When the two ideas of depression and a closed-book were combined together, it often led to trouble and actions that could not be undone, and for him to see both of them in his friend, it truly scared him. And the silverette never scared easily.

How he had kept himself from speaking during Roderich's entire speech, Gilbert didn't know. Not a single word had passed his lips, despite the desire to do so. He had listened to everything the brunette had said, taking in every word as something precious. No jokes came, no sarcastic quips, not even so much as a single claim of his awesomeness. It surprised the Prussian that, when Roderich had fallen silent, he didn't know what to say. His mind was blank, completely void of everything but what the Austrian had just said.

It was not until several minutes later that he finally found his voice again, and he sighed softly, an unusually gentle and concerned look dancing in his crimson orbs. "First off, of course I noticed all of that, and I don't know why you think I didn't. For that matter, I don't know how in the _hell_ no one else did, especially those instructors of yours, but I noticed, at least I believe, the moment that it started to happen." He paused, glancing toward the music book he'd placed on the piano's stand earlier, before turning back to the brunette. _Thinking about it, it was shortly after high school started that things really started to change. I kept quiet, because it wasn't really my business. I figured you were just being moody over something you didn't want people sticking their nose in, but…_

"You were right about all that crap when it comes to the world. It's full of a lot of crazy shit, and I can't sugar coat that, no matter what I say. It's full of a fuckton of people, and most of them are complete assholes… but you're wrong when you say they are _all_ 'just people.'" Sighing, Gilbert angled his body so that he was facing Roderich better, sitting on the bench as if mounting a horse. "There _are_ 'heroes' and 'villains' in this world, but they aren't like those colorful tweebs you find in comic books. They don't make themselves obvious, and they sure as hell don't run around in stupid little costumes saving people from equally ridiculous looking baddies who think that, just because they're badass, they can rob a bank and get away with it.

"A 'hero' is exactly what someone makes of it. Those musicians you love so damn much? Those are your own personal heroes, Roddy. They don't need capes or spandex, and they don't need super powers." He paused, holding a hand up to silence Roderich as the brunette opened his mouth. "They gave you something not just anyone could give you. They gave you hope, joy, inspiration… That sort of crap doesn't come from just any moron off the street. They can only come from people who you really care about or admire.

"Life doesn't often have happy endings, and I won't deny it. Life sucks, then you die, that's how it works. But it doesn't _have_ to. The sad thing about it is that people give up before they can find their own happiness, but let me tell you, Roddy, I'll be damned if I let you give in just because the other sorry fuckers don't notice something amazing when it dances in front of their face."

"Gilbert, I…" Roderich's words were cut off as a hand cupped his cheek. He gasped softly; eyes widening as crimson orbs bore into his own, unblinking, and making him feel uneasy. The hand on his cheek was soft, and warmer than he'd expected, and he found himself unconsciously leaning toward it, savoring the feeling it gave him.

"You can't tell me you play music for just other people, Roderich, because you don't. Feelings like the ones you used to show so openly, they don't just 'go away.' They might disappear for a bit, sure, but it takes a hell of a lot more to make them disappear for good. I mean, sure, you might be able to play a song for others, but what good is playing a song for someone else when you can't even put the feelings in for yourself, from your heart, the musician's heart, aren't there as well? If you can't play for yourself, you can't play for others. It's just _noise_."

Roderich whimpered quietly as Gilbert pulled his hand away and stood up and glared at the floor. The look in his deep eyes was conflicted as he spoke, his voice reflecting the same in tone. "You want to know the reason behind this room, Roderich? I made it for _you. _You and only you. I wasn't kidding about that earlier. West gave me an earful for all the money that went into this, and he nearly pitched a fit when he realized I had knocked down my own wall. Half my room is gone now because I wanted to give you _more_ space for all of this.

"You told me once that music without feelings in it is nothing more than noise that happens to sound nice, but dammit, Roddy, I want to hear the music you used to play. The music that, even if I teased you for it, was the most beautiful stuff I'd ever heard. The stuff you'd spend an ungodly amount of hours practicing and perfecting, even if it some stupid children's tune.

"I want to hear your heart in your music, again. I want to see you _smiling_, again—and your _real_ smile. Not that stupid grin you throw on your face at school these days to make Elizabeta and the others think you're alright. I… I want to see your happy ending, and…" Gilbert faltered, his gaze moving back up to the book of music as he spoke in a tone so quiet, he knew the brunette wouldn't hear it. "…I want to be at your side when you reach it."

"Gilbert…? I didn't catch-"

"Forget it," the silverette cut him off, shutting the book with more force than needed. Behind it, words written in golden script could be seen, but the bulk of the message was blocked by the sheets of music.

_"For Ro… … … …rt._

_… … … … … …some)"_

"I need a beer," the albino suddenly muttered, walking briskly toward the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me, Roddy."

"Gilbert!" Roderich called out in alarm, standing up, his arm reaching uselessly toward the silverette. "I…" But the albino had already left the room, and was halfway down the hall to the stairs.

The Austrian winced, bowing his head. He was had been rendered completely speechless. He wasn't to say something, _anything_, to get Gilbert's attention. He wanted to call out, to ask him to stop and come back in the room, to apologize, explain himself, say thank you, _something_… but no words came. He wants to say so many things; why he felt as he did, to tell the albino the truth, the whole truth, and not just part of it, and explain why he couldn't accept such a wonderful gift. But his body didn't seem to agree with him, and he remained still and silent until the other disappeared around the corner.

Shaking his head in frustration, he turned back into the piano. Why was he so mixed up about this? Gilbert was his friend, a very close and dear. They'd known each other since they were very young; of course the silverette would care. It made sense, if he looked at it like that. Gilbert didn't have a reason to build a room like this. He wouldn't. The albino had simply told Roderich what he wanted to hear at the time, and… Roderich shook his head and sighed. Gilbert was weird, yes, but he wouldn't have gone so far out of his way to pull a prank. Not if Ludwig was really as upset as the Prussian had said he was.

The Austrian wouldn't allow himself to read too far into the situation. His heart had already been broken once, and it had nearly killed him. Forcing the feelings that plagued his heart and mind somewhere in the very depths of his soul, it had shattered him, and he was quite sure having his heart broken a second time by allowing himself to believe in false home _would_ kill him. He simply wished that, above all else, despite his self-assurance that locking his feelings away would solve everything, there was something he could say or do to show his friend just how much their friendship meant to him—and just how far his own feelings went.

Roderich stared dully at the piano and sighed, falling back onto the bench. If only things were that easy, it would save him the torment of worrying about rejection, and allow himself to take a chance and see what would happen. The thought trailed off as he noticed the crooked sheet music before him that Gilbert had knocked over a few minutes prior. Compulsively, the brunette reached forward to straighten them, and paused, noticing something written behind the book that he couldn't make out. He picked the sheet music up and set it aside, returning his gaze to the piano's music stand to better read the writing.

But the moment he did, he swore his heart stopped, if only for a few moments.

**_"For Roderich, the musician of my heart._**

**_--Gilbert (the awesome)"_**

Gulping heavily, the Austrian read the words again and again, half expecting them to suddenly change as he read them. He took his glasses off and cleaned them, wondering if he needed a stronger prescription, but the words remained the same, their meaning clearer than a cloudless sky.

_The musician of my heart…_ Roderich repeated in his mind, eyes wide. Gilbert had called him that. The musician of his heart. A title that would seem so simple to anyone else, and yet, to the brunette… If he hadn't already been sitting, the Austrian was sure he would have collapsed. His legs had gone numb and he suddenly felt as if he were falling from a great height. Part of his mind wanted to scream out in pure delight, the words working as a beacon of hope against all his doubts, and yet, at the same time, another, much more cynical part of his mind wouldn't believe the words meant what they seemed to. Maybe the words meant exactly what they said; that Gilbert loved his _music_, and the feelings had nothing to do with Roderich himself.

_That must be it…_ he thought sadly, not noticing that his hands had begun to move on his own. _He can't have possibly meant… and yet… could he possibly…?_

As his mind continued to rush through more thoughts than the brunette could handle, something else took control of Roderich's body. He opened the lid of the piano again, and his fingers were ghosting over the keys, looking for the proper notes that only they seemed to know. He looked down at the keys, blinking owlishly as his thoughts finally slowed, and he sighed. He could not do this. He could not, and yet…He looked up, reading through Gilbert's sweet message once more.

_The musician of my heart._

Suddenly feeling a rush of confidence, the Austrian straightened his shoulders and positioned his hands once more. Then, for the first time in what felt like an eternity to him, Roderich began to _play._

The song was slow, almost hesitant at first, his elegant fingers dancing across the keys in an almost ghost-like fashion. He didn't have any idea what it was that he was playing, and he couldn't ever remembering hearing the song before. The next bars seemed to come naturally to him in a rush of complex notes and sounds that had never been written down before, but seemed to sound absolutely perfect to the brunette's ears.

It had not been a particularly long song, at least, for a piano piece. It ended slowly after only a few minutes, but the rush of emotions Roderich had felt when it was done was like waking up after a long coma-like sleep, and he felt so relaxed. His hands were shaking and tears had formed in the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over in a rush of emotions he hadn't allowed himself to feel in years.

A smile, an honestly and truly beautiful smile graced his lips as he leapt to his feet, stepping away from the piano. His legs felt weak, but he would not fall down. No, he could not allow himself to collapse, not yet. He could play again, truly and honestly play again, having been able to feel and understand every note he'd just made. While in truth, he felt as if he were not playing for himself, he knew one thing was certain. The song he'd just played, the beautiful, heart warming melody… it had been Gilbert, _for_ Gilbert. It had said everything that he hadn't been able to… and the silverette hadn't been there to hear it. He was downstairs getting a _beer._

_No,_ Roderich thought, shaking his head. That would not do. He had to see Gilbert. To see him now, thank him, and tell him the truth. He needed the albino back upstairs and near him. He needed… needed…

"GILBERT!" He shouted as loud as his choked voice would allow, praying that he'd be heard.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

When he reached the kitchen, Gilbert swore richly under his breath in German and ran a hand through his silver hair nervously. It was a bad idea to leave Roderich in that room alone, especially with something like _that_ on the piano. The moment he left the room, he regretted every having the message put on there in the first place. It was not that he felt ashamed of his feelings for the brunette, but after a speech like that, the silverette knew he didn't have a chance. Roderich's friendship meant everything to him, and if the Austrian saw the message, the Prussian was sure it would be lost before given a chance to even explain.

Crossing the length of the kitchen, the crimson-eyed male threw the refrigerator open and grabbed a beer, shutting it with far more force than necessary, knocking several magnets off that he didn't bother to pick up. His brother would lecture him for it later, he was sure, but his hands were shaking too much to hold a proper grip on much of anything. It was already a miracle that he hadn't dropped the bottle he'd just grabbed and had barely managed to remove the cap.

Dropping the cap into a small bucket on the country Ludwig used to hold bottle caps (something about recycling or giving them to the art students at the school to use, Gilbert had never really listened to the reason, he just put them in it), he took a deep gulp, shuddering as it stung his throat on the way down. Even beer could not calm his nerves right now, leaving him with only a foul taste in his mouth.

"I'm… such a dumbass," he muttered, leaning against the counter and burying his head in his arms. He groaned, fighting the urge to begin hitting it against the nearest surface until he managed to knock himself out. Maybe that way Roderich would take pity on him and talk sternly instead of shouting. "What the hell have I done…?" If Roderich hadn't been scared of him before, he'd likely just ruined and possible chances of closing the space that had grown between them with his pathetic speech. _And if he sees the note on the piano..._

"…Hah, 'dumbass' doesn't even begin to cover what I am," he sighed softly, raising his head enough to gaze dully at a bowl of fruit on the counter a few inches from his face. "What the hell was all that anyway? I just… started talking. Mein Gott, I don't even know where half that shit came from… Dammit, West was right. Maybe all my awesomeness is starting to make me crack." He sighed again and took another swig of beer, pulling a face as he felt the liquid travel down. "Can't say I'd be surprised if I go back out there to find he jumped out the window. I'm so… Fuck. I-" Gilbert froze, blinking rapidly as he heard something move upstairs, followed shortly be silence.

"What the hell? Did he really jump out the…?" The albino's question trailed off as a soft noise began to float down the stairs. It started quietly, then grew in volume, pulling Gilbert from his self-hate stricken rant. "Music…?" he muttered, walking toward the entrance of the kitchen to better hear the beautiful sounds from upstairs. "That's…" _The only other person in the house is… Roddy._

If Gilbert had not been as mentally stable (for lack of a better term) and stubborn as he was, the silverette was sure he would have started crying on the spot. He didn't have a clue what it was the Austrian was playing upstairs, but, whatever it was, was beautiful. Soft and elegant, the song was full of life, and a number of emotions that he wouldn't allow himself to name in fear of gathering false hope. It was as if a spell had been cast over him, and he was left rooted to the ground where he stood, unable to move.

However, the magic was short lived as the music stopped a few minutes later, and then…

**_"GILBERT!"_**

Jumping violently, the Prussian scrambled to keep from dropping the beer in his trembling hands. Not pausing for more than a few seconds, he threw the still half-full bottle across the room, not bothering to check and see if it landed in the sink or not. He sprinted from the kitchen and down the hall toward the stairs, fear surging through his veins and the worst case scenarios flashing before his eyes.

Had Roderich hurt himself? Fallen? Was he stuck somewhere? Had he actually tried the window and managed to get stuck in the tree outside? Gott only knew, and as he reached the top of the landing, Gilbert nearly fell fast first onto the floor as he scrambled to round the corner.

The half-closed door to the music room was thrown open with a loud **_BANG_**, and a wide-eyed, frantic Gilbert burst into the room. Crimson eyes darted around the room wildly, as if expecting to find his Austrian friend at gunpoint or worse. However, the lack of danger in the room left the silverette in confusion as he turned to the piano, his expression questioning.

"Rod—Are you crying!?" He stepped forward, a faint tone of panic in his voice as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

And then he noticed the music book missing from the piano's music stand.

"Shit," he swore softly, taking a step backward. Running a hand through his hair again, his gaze shifted toward Roderich, looking at his shoes rather than his face. He could hear the other crying, and didn't dare look at Roderich's face. "L-look, Rod, I can explain, I… it… fuck. Look, it says that because… I just… it… Oh… Fuck it."

Roderich raised an eyebrow in question, dabbing the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. He'd never seen Gilbert in such an uneasy state before (unless one counted that time Ludwig had gotten so ill he was hospitalized) and it unnerved him to see the man who was seemingly bothered by nothing panicking like he was right now. He took a half-step forward, jumping as Gilbert began to shake his head frantically, taking two more backward.

"Gil—"

"Look, t-the reason I did all this… and noticed all I did… and… the words on the piano, they… Shit, I was really hoping to avoid this."

The soft smile on Roderich's face widened slightly as he watched colour slowly bloom across the albino's face. He was _blushing_, and quite heavily at that; the colour easily noticeable against the abnormally pale skin. The silverette had begun to pace now, and the Austrian's smile faltered slightly. Maybe Gilbert really was not alright. He took another stepped forward and raised a hand, intent on touching the Prussian's shoulder when he was close enough, but before he could move, Gilbert had started shouting.

"Look, I love you, okay!? More than… fucking… everything, and I have since frickin' middle school! And, dammit, it's only gotten stronger since then! I hated seeing you falling apart like you were, and all I knew was that I wanted to do everything could to make you smile again and… and… Fuck! Now I'm ranting like a fucking moron and West said that all this was normal for someone who was—and he'd know after all, because he's Feliciano's frickin' whipping boy—and now you probably hate me for all this and…" Gilbert sighed, his back hitting the wall with a dull 'thud' as he leaned against it, hiding his eyes behind a pale hand. "…Shit."

If it were possible, Roderich was sure that his brain had shut down at the exact same moment his heart exploded. He couldn't believe his ears, and for several moments, he was quite sure he had imagined everything that had just happened, but the dark blush seeping out from under Gilbert's hand told him otherwise. None of it made sense to the brunette. Of all the possible people in the world, how could someone as strong, confident, out-going and just… utterly _perfect_ have fallen in love with someone like _him?_ It did not make sense, and it did not seem right, especially for as long as Gilbert had said. He stood by for so long, desperate to tell the albino how he felt, but always fearing the loss of having the other in his life for acting like a love-sick fool.

His chest clenched almost painfully, his heart that had been long-since denied any form of human emotion threatening to burst. His sense of logical thought had died several minutes ago when Gilbert had begun speaking, and he was left frozen with only his emotions to guide him. This, the man before him, and all that had been said, it was not a false hope or a dream, and it was not something that could be so easily ignored, or beaten down. Gilbert had said it, all of it, ever-honest (sometimes brutally so) Gilbert had said that he loved him, Roderich, more than anything else in this world. And that, like everything else about the silverette, was completely irresistible.

It took his brain several moments to register that they were both still standing there, and that Gilbert was peering out from behind split fingers, waiting for the Austrian to say something. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Gilbert had broken out in a cold sweat, and the panicked look of nervousness in the other's crimson eyes almost made the brunette wince. The albino was _scared,_ utterly terrified of being rejected, and the message was clear to Roderich, who had yet to regain use of his vocal cords, but the moment he did, he blurted out the words words that came to his mind.

"…You swear too much, Bertie."

The look on Gilbert's face would have been comical had the situation not been so serious, and yet, the brunette found himself bursting into laughter. It did nothing to help his nerves, and Roderich began walking forward slowly, trying to control the fit of uncountable laughter that had suddenly taken him over.

_He's finally snapped…_ Prussia thought as he tried to step backward, cursing silently when he hit the wall. _I think he's finally—Did he just call me "Bertie"?_

"Gilbert, you truly are a fool…" Roderich said quietly, finally gaining enough control over his laughter to speak. "I could never hate you… I didn't hate you when you'd tease me when we were children—and need I remind that you would tease me _constantly._ I didn't hate you in middle school, even when we seemed to stop talking for a while. I couldn't… even when it made my heart ache to simply look at you… because I loved you so much, and I knew you would never return my feelings… and I couldn't bring myself to hate you for the idiotic stunt you pulled in the other room either, though I do ask that you don't repeat it."

The brunette snorted, realizing just how ridiculous he sounded. Everything had sounded like something out of a poorly written romance novel, and he was acting no better. Still, he felt he had the right to act a bit silly. The person who he had longed for, pined for, and whom he had thought was lost to him forever over something futile, for, some unfathomable and ungodly reason, was in love with _him._ Returned _his_ feelings. Yes, Roderich was quite sure he had the right to be corny, even if the look on Gilbert's face seemed to think otherwise.

"Oi, Roddy! Don't call me 'Bertie'! At least I put effort into your nickname. Roddy sounds nice. Bertie sounds too much like that puppet from whatsit-street on TV! And if you cared for that long, why didn't you…" Gilbert trailed off, his voice catching in his throat as one of Roderich's slender hands came to rest on the back of his neck. He gulped, suddenly feeling very, _very_ nervous as he watched the brunette's other hand came to rest on his chest. _What is he…?_

"R-Roddy?"

"You talk too much as well. At the very least, clean up that mouth of yours, or I'll give it something better to do."

"What the… F-fuck, Roddy. Seriously, what you--!?"

"I warned you, _Bertie._"

"Don't call me fucking-!"

Shaking his head with an amused smile, Roderich leaned forward, easily closing the remaining distance between them. The kiss was soft and gentle, but it effectively shut Gilbert up with its quite intensity that could have moved mountains. The two remained quite still, neither daring to move in fear of breaking the magic of the moment that had been presented to them.

_Roderich…_ Gilbert's arms moved on their own accord, wrapping his arms around Roderich's waist. The faint taste of tea lingered on the brunette's lips, and the albino angled his head slightly to better enjoy it the flavor of a drink he never dreamed of having on his own. Something in his chest purred softly in delight, and for a moment, the Prussian wondered if the feeling he had now was the 'wonderful floating feeling' that he'd heard females at the school talking about when discussing a first kiss.

While he would have boasted differently if asked, the albino had never kissed anyone before, not really. He kissed Ludwig once, but it was only because they both managed to walk under the same mistletoe two years ago at Christmas. Amusingly enough (at least for those who had been there to see it) the two had been too stubborn to move and Gilbert, who wanted to get another beer, got fed up with waiting and leaned in, giving his younger brother a quick peck on the lips before strutting into the kitchen with a satisfied smirk. In the end, the look on Ludwig's face had made the event completely worth it, but when someone would mention it, Gilbert would always blame the beer for his actions and Ludwig would agree without any argument.

When Roderich finally leaned back, he smiled softly, leaving his hands where they were as he stared up into Gilbert's intense gaze, his own violet orbs reflecting the most genuine emotions of love illuminating the albino's crimson ones. "Say it again," the Austrian muttered softly. "Say that you love me, and I promise you, I'll never stop smiling again."

"…Idiot," the Prussian muttered, leaning his forehead against Roderich's, making their embrace slightly awkward, as the brunette's arm was still pinned between them. "Don't tell me that, because I don't ever want it to be true."

"Wha…" Roderich's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, the brunette fixing Gilbert with a questioning look. "I don't…"

"Roddy, shut up. I'm not finished…" He paused for a moment, waiting to see if the Austrian had any more protests before continuing. "Smile when you're happy and cry when you're sad. Just remember this… Whenever you're feeling down, come to me, because if I can help it, I won't ever give you a reason to cry—and I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from finding one… Unless it's in awe of my awesome or out of pure joy."

He leaned forward, smirking slightly at the blush slowly forming on Roderich's face. He could be a romantic if he wanted to. He was _Prussian_ after all, and they were fairly decent romantics. …For the most part. Not quite like Francis and the rest of the French, but who wanted to be that much of an over-zealous, idiotic, annoying, git of a womanizer anyway? Stuff like that was suffocating, and left you with the strong urge to punch the person speaking.

"Ich liebe dich von ganzem Herzen…" Gilbert said softly, pulling one of his hands away from Roderich's waist to grip the one between them loosely, intertwining their fingers together and allowing their hands to hand limply at their side. The smirk had never left his face, but the gentle look in his eyes assured the Austrian of the truth behind his words. "Now and always, Roddy, I love you. I meant what I said earlier… The world is full of heroes and villains, you just have to look around and see who is who. I know I don't have super powers; I can't fly, and I'm not exactly the Mr. Do-Good type. I enjoy causing havoc and chaos all around me, and I know I can be cocky enough to make you and everyone else in the room want to murder me when playing a game of Risk. I've got a fanclub, sure, but it isn't as if I use them. Mostly, they just feed my ego, and I swear it has to be the size of the continental US—hell, maybe even Russia. But dammit, I can be a better hero than those airheads in the comics, anyway. Let me be the hero in your life, the one who protects you from the bad things and the villains… Because I sure as hell know you've been my hero for so long, I can't even remember when I first started thinking of you like that." He smirked and leaned closer. "Besides… I could totally pull it off. I'm pretty damn awesome, after all, and I bet I'd look fuckin' _sexy_ in spandex."

"…You're a fool," Roderich muttered, dabbing his eyes with his sleeve. "You're such a fool, Gilbert."

"Hey!" Gilbert protested, looking faintly offended, "I just spewed all that romantic shit that only an idiot like Francis should be able to say with a straight face and you—"

"You're always been my hero, Gilbert… _Always_. Ever since I first met you, I've admired you—even if you were a fool. You were… so care-free and confident. You could do anything in the world and be completely sure of yourself."

"That's because I'm—"

"Awesome, I know. Gilbert, listen to me, please. Don't tell me you've reached your quota for the day already."

"Well…" the albino appeared to look thoughtful for a moment, earning a small glare from the brunette who tugged his hand out of the Prussian's and cupped Gilbert's check, effectively shutting him up.

"When I struggled at home, or at school… I would think of you, and all the things you're able to do when you somehow find the attention span to put the effort forth. Your strength was… amazing, and it became my own, in a sense. You… you gave me something to live for." Roderich's gaze moved downward, breaking his violet irises away from deep crimson and bit his lip. He wasn't sure what it was he was saying anymore, just that he needed to say it and get it all out. He chanced another glance back up, pleased to find that Gilbert hadn't moved, and from the glassy look in his eyes, the albino was making it a point not to blink either. _At least he's honoring my request to be quiet as well…_

"At first…" the Austrian began, noting the faint tremble in his voice. "At first, I told myself that I wanted to _be_ you, that I was jealous. Your life was… so much easier than mine and that was what I wanted, more than anything. It was what I desired… I wanted to run away from everything in my life, just… throw it all away, and live with my family like you do with Ludwig. In the end… it took a long time, far too long in all honesty, to admit to myself that what I really wanted was… it wasn't to _be_ you, it _was_ you."

"You've had me for a lot longer than you think, Roddy," Gilbert muttered, finally allowing himself to blink once. "You just didn't know it—I didn't really know it either. West said I was 'whipped', but he would know what with Felici—"

"Gilbert."

"Sorry, sorry. The awesome will keep quiet."

"Thank you… In any case… When I finally realized that… I had never so much as imagined telling you. I knew what your answer would be." Roderich's lips curved into a small smile as the albino raised a slender eyebrow. "At least, I had thought I did. It seems I was wrong, and I'm quite glad for that. I had convinced myself that simply watching you was enough. Yet, in dreaming that you might somehow return my feelings, my desires grew, and I become afraid. Our friendship—you—they were so important to me, and I was terrified of losing that, should I manage to slip up. I told myself what I was doing, that what I was feeling, was wrong. That it was unfair to you, even in something as personal as a dream. So… I stopped dreaming."

Roderich chuckled softly as he felt Gilbert's right arm that had been hanging at his side join the left around his waist and tighten their grip. A small frown graced his pale features and the brunette slid his hand from the Prussian's cheek to place a slender finger against the albino's lips. "It wasn't easy… to stop dreaming, I mean, I knew, or imagined that I did, what would happen if I allowed myself to continue foolishly following a dream I never thought could become reality."

"Rod—"

"But, try as I might, I couldn't stop caring about you; even when I locked everything away, and stopped caring about everything else. I had trapped myself in something, somewhere so empty and cold… I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to escape, or what to do with myself anymore. It… it was like being a broken doll. Lost, forgotten… and all it took was a smile, genuine or not, to make people believe I was alright. But then… then…" He smiled again, tilting his head to the side. "Then… you saved me, Gilbert. I could have never said anything like you said tonight—"

"—I think you are right now, Roddy."

"—and not even for a second had I ever believed that you would truly and honestly return my feelings. For someone like you… to love someone like me. I still don't know why you do, and I doubt I ever will, but I will do everything I can to make you not regret these feelings. Because I love you, and you _are_ my hero, Gilbert."

"I never do anything I regr…" Gilbert fell silent as Roderich stood on his toes, pressing his lips against the albino's left cheek.

"You were…" Roderich shifted and kissed the right cheek, taking faint pleasure in the dark blush that was slowly colouring Gilbert's face. "You very much are…" Finally, a kiss on the lips, gentle, but sweet all the same. "And always will be." He paused, then added, "Spandex… or otherwise."

Gilbert bit back a laugh as the Austrian lowered himself back to his normal height, making it quite obviously that he was putting a great deal of effort into _not_ imagining Gilbert in spandex. This, surprisingly enough, was a very hard thing for Roderich to do. Especially with the albino in question holding him in a tight embrace. _Good God, I'm turning into Francis…_

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"…"

"…I mean, do you believe it's safe to go back yet? And what about my dogs? Do you think they'll remember to feed them? Mein Gott, I can't believe I'm scared to go back to my own house."

"…"

"…"

"…They were doing _what?"_

"…You're no help, Alfred."

"Why are you calling _me_ about this, anyway?"

"Arthur was engaged and Feliciano is an idiot."

"Well, sure he is. But you love him anyway."

"I… T-that's completely off topic! And Ridiculous!"

"Wait, what do you mean Arthur is _engaged?_ To who!?"

Ludwig sighed heavily. "It means his line was _busy_, Alfred."

"Oh… well, why—"

"Ivan was out."

"What about Roman—"

"I really hope that's a joke, Alfred. That would just be adding fuel to the fire."

"Oh, right… You two hate each other."

"I don't hate-!"

"Well, what about…"

"Honda didn't answer his phone."

"…Fine, then—"

"Wang's mother said he was out with Honda. The two will be gone all weekend."

"Yao lives with his mother still? Seriously? Damn, he—Where they hell are they going all weekend?!"

"I don't _know_, Alfred. I can't say I care much at this point… I could only get Francis' voicemail after that, and—"

"You think they went to a hotel or something?"

"I don't—"

"Wait! You called _Francis_ before me!?"

"…Well, I—"

There was a small 'click' and the line died. Ludwig stared at his phone in disbelief, a small, very un-Ludwig like whimper escaping his lips. He needed beer. A lot of beer. And he needed it _now._

Unfortunately, he still lacked the confidence to return to his own house, and he hadn't grabbed his wallet on the way out. All he had in his pocket was a few dollars, and at best, that would get him two drinks at a local café—presumably without alcohol in them.

"…Why me?" The German mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he started down the road. "Why can't I have had a normal brother?" As he said the words, despite his current situation, he knew he didn't mean them. Gilbert, while very trying at times, was likely the best brother he could have asked for. It was true that he'd seen his elder brother in various situations he wished he could forget (like the one he just had), but, all in all, the self-proclaimed Prussian had never once failed in his 'duties' as an older brother, and he had raised Ludwig singlehandedly when he was eight, and Ludwig was only five.

"…I really need a beer."


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: OKAY! First off a huge, huge, huge, HUGE thank you to **_ Amethyst DragonRider_** she is the reason I'm able to upload this chapter (and the next.) She gave me a super awesome beta'd and returned it with some awesome comments. She is just... so awesome. So be sure to go give her PMs of worship or say something nice to her in the reviews, because I'm serious. She's the only reason I'm finally able to get this up in a none typo-ridden way. THANK YOU! I luff you~

Thank you to EVERYONE who offered to BETA. There were so many of you, I honestly didn't know WHO to choose. I ended up writing all the names down on paper and dropping them into a hat. XD I'm lame like that. Thank you for all the reviews as well, and I really hope that I didn't miss any of you, and if I did, I'm truly sorry...

I'll upload chapter six soon. It's done and BETA'd. I'll probably put it up when I finish seven or my Monday. Whichever comes first.

**Azeeza**: Ahaha~ I'm glad you liked Gilbo's message. I felt I was being a bit corny, but if someone thought it was cute, then that's enough for me. That's a great suggestion for Ludwig, though. Poor boy... He'll need to carry more than just a flask around. I'm far too cruel to the boy.

**Gosai Ryuu**: People do tend to write poor Gilbo too serious, but I personally believe deep down he's like Ludwig. A big ol' teddy-bear that needs a good snuggle. I'm so glad you think I write them in character, that's what always worries me about this story. I'm scared I'm writing them wrong and insulting them somehow. I'm glad you like what I'm doing! Thank you for yet another kind review and I'm glad you liked the fluff-stuff, too. XD I loved writing it.

**AbyssDP**: Don't worry about logging in or not. You still left me a review and I'm really glad you did. I'm super happy you enjoyed the motion in this chapter, and I hope this one serves you just as well. And yeah... it really isn't Ludwig's name. I think he needs a cookie...

**Cry-Wolf-And-Sing:** Of course I'm going to write more! I'm not sure if I'll end up bringing GermanyxItaly or ChinaxJapan in this. I've been concentrating so much on PruAus... I sort of lost the ideas I had for the others, but I'll do my best to work them in for this story--and if not this one, I can get it into _How to Save a Life_, for sure.

**Somebody-chan:** Woooow... so many emotions. Woohoo! I can touch emotions through my writing! I'm so glad you're enjoying this, really. Your review was really sweet... I'm so glad my writing is bringing you joy and that I'm able to get the messages I'm aiming for in my writing.  
**  
MindFuel: **Oh, gosh! No! Of course it isn't over! I still have chapter six and seven, and more after that. I have a lot planned for this story. I just hope it doens't distract me from How to Save a Life. I know I stopped uploading it on LiveJournal, though. XD I guess I got lazy, but I hope to catch up on it again... I just need to rember what chapter I last uploaded there.

**Kuroshii:** GASP! LURKER! -points- You're a lurker! Ahaha, at least you admit to it. (Kidding, of course.) Thank you so much... I really don't think I'm as awesome as you seem to think (I'm not Prussia, after all. He invented awesome.) Your review was also super sweet... I think Gilbert's and Roderich's conversation about music, heroes, and villains was one of my favourite parts to write. I got to add a lot of my own thoughts into the story and try and mold the wording to fit the characters--but a lot of that was stuff I believe in myself. Again, thank you so much for your compliments, and I'm glad you think my German is working out. -laughs- Oh God, I was so scared that I'd written it completely wrong... but to have a native speaker tell me it's good... wow! Thanks! I'll be sure to contact you if I need help with my German, ne?

**Amethyst DragonRider:** Thank you, yet again, for BETAing for me. You're truely wonderful, and you have no idea how grateful I am. I'm glad this chapter and the next were to your liking. XD Ahaha, I'll have chapter seven done fo you soon by the way. Thank you once more for helping me out. XD Don't worry. Ludwig was finally able to get back inside, though. So that's good for him. He's just scared of walking into rooms now.

**Corvyie:** OF COURSE cookies made with Prussia are infested with awesome! They are MADE by awesome! I'm pleased you were happy about the update, but try not to fall out of your chair, okay? I don't want you to get hurt... YOu don't have to worry about being Romantic, though. I'm a hidden romantic deep down myself, but I hide it really well when I'm out with other people. -laughs- I really hope I don't make you cry anymore with these chapters, but a fair warning, I have some angst coming again soon. Thank you for your review, and I'm glad you're enjoying this~

**ChibiKin:** The Devil's Trill really is a beautiful piece... I love it so much. I hope these next chapters are as good as the rest seem to hve been for you, but trust me, this story isn't that wonderful... There are people who are so much better than me, but thank you... It means a lot to me that all of you are enjoying this.

**  
darkgreenprietess:** Oh gosh... I highly doubt it was the most romantic conversation in all of man kind. I'm glad the chapter touched you though. Don't worry, I'm a total sap myself, and the rest of the story will focus on their relationship and various other things. Remember, Roderich is finally 're-learning' to play music. I have to add something about his music growing again, right? And Gilbert can play well, too... Hm~ Maybe they'll do something together? Ahaha. I totally don't know. I'm just rambling. I'm reaching the point where I've used all my ideas and I'm making up more.

**Hazel-Beka:** ...Dude, you ARE a minor celebrety. At least, on fanfiction you are. Your writing is SUPER awesome, and I seriously think EVERYONE reading this story should read yours. Because I LOVE your writing! Gilbo really is a cutie... Like I said, he's a teddy-bear deep down. I'm glad the writing on the piano wasn't too corny, though. In all honesty, the writing on the piano was just something I made up on the spot in an RP, and it was from that tiny little message that this entire story bloomed from. XD And yes, even when Gilbert is at his most emotional, he manages to give himself a mini ego-boost. You don't have to worry about Bertie popping up a lot, though. Roddy and Bertie are more of pet names that they'll have for each other during super mushy moments... or something. I also fixed that double-written chapter, and thank you for pointing it out to me. But oh God... X3 thank you for the compliments, really... I was REALLY worried I'd totally mucked up their first kiss, but I'm glad it came out alright. I really though that I wrote this chapter too quickly myself, but I was also running low on decent ways of dragging it out without getting boring or completely off topic. I hope this chapter makes up for the speed-writing. Hopefully it slows things down a bit. XD Oh God, and yes... Poor Alfred. But really, I can't blame Ludwig, either. Alfred is a wonderful person... but he's not too good with romance. XD He can't even be honest with England.

**gwendal's wife**: Oh God, Roddy! Calm down... Your entire review was in caps. I'm so glad you enjoyed it... but be sure to breathe while you're reading okay? Kesesesese~ I'm still glad I manged to drag you into the PrussiaAustria fandom. (I replied to both our RPs on the Hetalia forum, by the way~) I'm super thrilled the chapter (somehow manged) to make your day. Formidonis is truely a wonderful Austria, and I owe it to him that I somehow manage to pull him off in this story. -pats head- But like I said, just remember to breathe. I won't be able to get to you in time to help you if you pass out. ...And that's a lot of thumbs. o.o; Where did you get them all? (ALSO! WE NEED TO DO THAT WHEELCHAIR RP!)

**bella92:** So many people have been complimenting me on how I write Prussia. I'm so glad people enjoy how I write him, because I truely love writing him. He's wonderful, and... I don't know why it is I enjoy writing him so much, honestly. It's just... a lot of fun. Thank you for the review, and yes! GilboRoddy forever! X3

**MoonlitCries:** XD I'm glad even sweet and loving Gilbert still seems to sound Gilboish to you. It means a lot. Again, I'm also so woried that I manage to mess something up with him in making him all... fluffy.

**NinjAngel: **Your user name is cool. I like how you put the A's together. 83 I know I'm being really cruel to Ludwig in this story. I'll make it up to him... somehow. The next chapter (six) Ludwig gets some brotherly moments. So I hope that makes up for all the mean things I've done to him... XD And yes, he is VERY deep in denial about Feliciano. I'll give them some fluffy moments. AND YES! READ MORE PRUAUS! Kesesese! Read more! MORE! MORE! MORE!!!

**Kurizaki:** N-nose bleed!? Oh man. Ahahaha, I doubt my writing was food enough for anything like that. But I'm sure it'd get boring after the second read... I'm really not that good of a writer. I really hope you enjoy this update, though. It should prove interesting for you.. or at least I hope. Thank you for your kind words, really...

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* * *

Chapter Five**

A pleasant smell filled the Weillschmidt household. Downstairs in the kitchen, Gilbert moved around swiftly, pulling ingredients from the cupboard and refrigerator as he gathered what he needed to make lunch. Following loyally at his heels was the large wolf-like form of Adler, who had finally deemed it safe to approach his master again once the two males had come downstairs. At the table, sat Roderich, Berlitz, Blackie, and Astra gathered around his feet watching the small plate of semmeln sitting in front of the brunette.

"You know, I bet you _would_ love to see me in spandex," Gilbert commented as he made his way around the kitchen, earning a small glare from Roderich. "What? No need to get embarrassed. I can't blame you. With all this awesomeness and sexy, you can't _help_ but want to see me in something _skin tight._"

Roderich choked on the tea he'd just been served several minutes ago, staring at the albino with wide eyes and a flushed expression. "Wh-what? D-don't be so vulgar! I told you to drop that, you egoti—"

"But I bet you'd love me in _wet_ spandex even _more._"

Roderich whimpered again, but the glazed look in his eyes told him Gilbert had managed to do exactly what he'd been trying. The cup of tea was nearly dropped to the floor as the Austrian's inner mind kicked into high gear. Gilbert was climbing out of a swimming pool, dressed in nothing but a speedo that Roderich was quite sure was at least two sizes too small for reasons the brunette couldn't even imagine. His silver hair had fallen over his eyes, sticking to his face, the crimson orbs flashing with a predatory hunger that made the room suddenly feel much warmer than it had a few minutes ago. The effect of the image only seemed to worsen with the water glinting off Gilbert's—

Somewhere near his ankle, one of Ludwig's dogs barked loudly, and Roderich jumped. He blushed heavily, glaring at the Prussian, who was leaning against the counter and regarding Roderich with an all-too-satisfied smirk. Violet eyes darted downward, looking everywhere in the room except the albino, who had started to begun to laugh loudly. Asta had stood up, and was now resting on of his paws on Roderich's lap, whimpering as he attempted to lean forward and nudge the plate of food with his nose.

"I never pegged you as the imaginative type, Roddy, at least not like that. You haven't been spending time with Francis, have you?"

"Gilbert!"

"Don't yell at _me_," Gilbert said, mocking an offended tone. "You're the one over there making your own mental por—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Roderich said loudly, making the albino laugh again. "And please! Get them off me!"

The Prussian turned, raising an eyebrow in question, and had to bite back yet another fit of laughter at the scene before him. All three dogs had teamed up against Roderich and were very close to knocking the Austrian off his chair in order to get the food on the table.

"Oi! You three get down. I've already fed you. Just because West isn't here doesn't mean you can break _all_ the rules. Roddy is mine, so back off doggies. Why don't you all go curl up on Ludwig's bed?"

Berlitz barked, once, and turned, quickly leaving the kitchen with Blackie and Asta behind him. Adler, who had yet to move more than two feet from Gilbert since the silverette had entered the kitchen, moved forward and sat beside Roderich. His deep crimson eyes followed his master's movements carefully, moving only when the albino would toss something over his shoulder that, much to Roderich's amazement, would be perfectly aimed toward the dogs mouth.

"I don't understand how this one can be yours…" the Austrian muttered, absently stroking Adler behind the ears as he sipped his tea. "Of all of them, he's the quietist and most well behaved. Are you quite sure you've raised him? He looks as if he's almost all wolf."

"That's because Adler _is_ mostly wolf," Gilbert said happily, pulling something that Roderich couldn't see off the stove. "He comes from a very long line of wolves, you know."

"How do you…?"

"Because his father was a wolf pup the guy who sold him to me found. The little guy ended up getting it on with the female husky he had at the time—"

"—Don't say it like that!"

"—and Adler here was one of the pups. I would have taken all three, but West would have had a conniption or something if I'd brought home three almost pure-blood wolves."

"He's very well trained…"

"Duh. It's because he's the partner of awesome. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised you can pet him."

Roderich paled slightly, pulling his hand away from Adler's head. "W-why?"

"He usually only lets me touch him," the Prussian shrugged. "Well, me and West, anyway. West acts like he hates Adler, but I've seen him showering him with affection once or twice on my way out of the bathroom. He just likes to act tough. He's even worse with his dogs. Treats them like little babies."

Roderich smiled faintly, his gaze falling on Adler who was still watching Gilbert with an intent gaze. The idea of Ludwig, a person who always seemed to make it a point to appear very tough, would turn into a pile of mush alone with his dogs was very amusing. He'd have to keep that in mind. Perhaps using Gilbert's methods of blackmail once in a while wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"In any case, whatever you're cooking smells wonderful," the brunette said, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. _I haven't been able to enjoy the scent of a working kitchen in a long time._

"I do most of the cooking between West and me," Gilbert said, pulling two plates from a shelf. "West isn't a _bad_ cook, he just has a very limited knowledge of cooking, and sometimes, he tries too hard to improvise by combining two steps that really shouldn't be combined. Happily, he isn't as bad as Arthur, and most of the stuff he makes ends up tasting pretty good—although it always looks weird as hell."

"I see…" the Austrian smiled faintly, shaking his head. "The violin, cooking… What other talents have you been hiding from me?"

"Well, if you want to know about hidden talents," the Prussian began with a grin as he walked toward the table with two plates. "We'd need to go upstairs, and I'd really hope that West fainted or got himself stuck in a hole, because we'd need some time, and I think scarring by little brother's mind once already was enough."

"G-Gilbert!"

"Ahahaha! I was _kidding_, Roddy. You're too uptight, you know? Hahaha, anyway, here." He set a plate down in front of the brunette, who turned toward it eagerly. "Enjoy. Chicken and leek strudels, with wild rice topped with pecans. For dessert… Well, you'll have to wait for that, but this sort of thing is popular in Austria, isn't it?"

Roderich could only nod, his eyes sparkling in faint delight at the sight of the food before him. Gilbert had really outdone himself, and the idea that the albino had gone out of his way to make something from his own country (though, he suspected being from Germany had helped him) was very flattering. A light blush spread across his cheeks as his stomach growled loudly in protest, his body demanding that the food be put in his stomach instead of stared at.

"Thank you," the Austrian murmured quietly, picking up his fork. "This looks wonderful… I haven't had food like this in a while."

"…It looks like you haven't _eaten_ in a while, Roddy."

The brunette froze, fork halfway to his mouth as he started at the albino in faint horror. Just how much did Gilbert know? Had all his problems been that obvious? Of course, given that the Prussian had noticed when his music had changed, he shouldn't be surprised that the silverette had caught on to his other problems as well. Still, it was discomforting. If Gilbert knew, then surely, someone else must know as well, be it noticing on their own, or Ludwig, after the albino went to his brother as a confidant.

"I… don't know what you're talking about," Roderich said, quickly moving the fork into his mouth. As expected, the food tasted absolutely wonderful, and it had taken a great deal of the brunette's self control to keep from shoveling it all into his mouth. It wasn't until he was presented with a meal like the one he had now that he realized just how hungry he was, and it was almost pathetic thinking about it. How long had it been since he'd last had a full meal? A _warm_ meal that hadn't been bought with whatever scraps of money that he was able to keep for his personal use?

"I want an honest answer, Roderich, understand?" The serious tone in Gilbert's voice made the Austrian wince. Gilbert only used his full name when he was being very serious about something. He'd grown so accustomed to actually _enjoying_ the somewhat annoying nickname the silverette had given him, his real name felt almost like a dagger to the chest. All he could do was nod numbly in response as he took another bite, as if on autopilot. He doubted he could lie to the other anyway. What was the point in fighting it?

"Don't think it was just your music changing that I noticed. You're skinnier than normal—and you were a twig to begin with. You weigh next to _nothing_, and it was _way_ too easy to lift you back in the music room when I hugged you. Your skin is paler than normal, and I don't mean healthy pale like mine. Your eyes…your eyes look exhausted. I can see your emotions in them, much clearer than a few hours ago, but at the same time, they look so tired." Gilbert trailed off, sighing softly as he reached out slowly, cupping Roderich's cheek in his hand for a brief moment before pulling away. If he kept it there, the brunette wouldn't be able to eat, and that was the last thing Gilbert wanted to prevent the Austrian from doing right now. "Why…why have you been neglecting yourself? Was…was this all because of me? Because I didn't look at you enough?" _Or is there something much, much deeper happening here? Roderich…what happened to you?_

"Gilbert…" Roderich shook his head slowly, lowering his fork to the table. "First of all, you mustn't even begin to think that any of this is because of you. You're not at fault for my own foolishness. All you've ever done is given me hope…a reason to keep fighting. And you're likely the only reason I didn't use more permanent methods of ridding myself of my problems."

"Wh-what…?" Gilbert's eyes widened in horror and his grip on the back of his chair tightened. "You…what? Roderich-!"

"Gilbert… Please allow me to finish."

"How can you expect me to be quiet after…"

"Bertie, please…"

The albino faltered, the worried gaze on his face slipping away to one more sympathetic as he sighed and nodded slowly. His hand extended absently toward brunette, who gratefully accepted the pale hand in his own before continuing. "Although you didn't understand how much I needed you… You were still always there for me. However, some of it is _about_ you."

The Prussian pulled a face, the confusion he felt evident in his expression. Roderich chuckled as he smiled sardonically, giving the albino's hand a small squeeze of reassurance. "I'm not doing a very good job of explaining, am I?"

"Not really, no."

The Austrian snorted. "Ever the honest one…"

"I always am… Now why don't you return the favour?"

Roderich winced faintly, although the Prussian's words held no malice, they hit him hard, and he knew Gilbert wasn't joking. The serious look in the other's eyes was enough to tell the brunette he wasn't going to get away with petty stories. He sighed heavily and nibbled his lower lip, he'd wanted to avoid this truth for as long as he could.

"It…has never been easy at home," he began quietly. There wasn't a need to elaborate on what he meant. Of all the people in the area, the German brother's likely knew the most about his family background. Still, it would be clear to even the most casual of observers that his parents didn't particularly care for one another, and they never truly had. Their marriage had been one of convenience, and nothing more. As it was, Roderich's birth was a mistake and it was very likely that the only reason he wasn't offered up for adoption was because he was male and could carry on the family name and due to his seemingly god-given talent with music at a young age.

"You…know how it is there, but things have been getting worse. A _lot_ worse. Father was made redundant, and he failed to tell my mother for some time, so there was no warning before things started to go wrong with financial issues…" Roderich's voice wavered slightly, he pressed forward, speaking in a quick and quiet tone. He wanted to give Gilbert the full answer he deserved, but he didn't want to dwell or relive the more painful things either. He gulped and closed his eyes, pausing for only a moment before he continued, trying his best to remain as emotionless as possible throughout his explanation, much to Gilbert's unease.

"Money became scarce, _very_ scarce. To pay for the mortgage and food, we had to sell things around the house. Furniture, processions…things like that. I've…I've been working a few, ah, odd jobs, so I haven't been getting much sleep."

"Sell things, Roddy?" Gilbert repeated quietly, looking worried. "What do you…Mein Gott, Roddy, they didn't sell…"

"Everything, almost," the brunette nodded sadly, staring at the floor. "I've still got a mattress, but the frame itself was sold a while ago. And…at the start of this year…my great grandfather's piano was sold at a, thankfully, high price for food."

"_Thankfully!?"_ the Prussian snapped, looking furious as he spoke. "Roddy, that piano meant the world to you! That isn't-!"

"I'm not sure fairness mattered very much to my father…"

"That's-! Roderich, this isn't _fair!_ You're only _human!_ How many jobs are you working?! On top of school? How the hell are you keeping your grades—"

"_Gilbert."_

"Urgh…" With a small growl of annoyance, the silverette nodded and leaned back in his chair, waiting for the brunette to continue.

"Honestly, the jobs aren't so bad. My heads…they're understanding of my situation and don't scold me as much as they should when I'm late or if I start to falter in my performance. It's…very kind of them. However, a few months ago, my mother finally left. One morning, she simply wasn't there anymore, and I cannot claim that it was a big surprise. I had been expecting it to happen for some time and, if anything, I'm surprised she ended up staying as long as she had. Father, on the other hand…he didn't expect it, and because of it…he's started drinking again. That in turn makes it much harder for him to work, which he needs to do. My income barely covers food as it is, and if I were to take another job…"

"The hell you will!" Gilbert snapped, standing up. "I don't give a damn if he's so drunk he can't stand. He—"

"Bertie, _sit down._"

"I-"

"Unfortunately," Roderich continued, trying to ease the silverette back into his seat, "I don't believe there is anything else we can sell—Nothing that will be of worth to anyone, at the very least. To make matters worse…everything is in my mother's name. While she, like my father, is originally Austrian, you must remember that she lived here before we did, thus…he never applied for citizenship. Technically…he's just a resident, and because I was born while they were on vacation in Austria…I suppose I must have taken after my father in that account, because I'm not better off than he is."

The brunette sighed again, rubbing his temple with his free hand. Thinking of all this made him feel exhausted, and he couldn't be more thankful that he was almost done. "He…he is scared that we may end up deported… As am I. However, my father had the idea that, if he could not make the money, he could always marry it…However, given his current…hobbies, that idea seems useless. But myself, on the other hand…"

"You're not being forced into a…"

Roderich smiled faintly and shook his head. "No…I'm not. Although I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to make it work. However…I still stand firm that, even if I'd lost faith in the emotion for a while, marriage should be for love, not profit, and I gave my heart away long ago."

"Roddy…" Gilbert watched in silence as the Austrian turned his attention back to the, thankfully, still warm plate of food in front of him. The brunette, without realizing it, had sped up his movements, eating much quicker than before and making it quite obvious just how hungry he was. Crimson eyes followed the length of Roderich's arm up to his shoulder then continued along his shoulders, pausing as, for the first time in the better lighting, he noticed a something white near the brunette's neck.

"Roderich…" the albino addressed the Austrian, stopping the fork's movements for a second time. "What happened?"

"I don't under—"

"You've got bandages on your neck."

Roderich paled, his grip on the utensil going slack as Gilbert leaned forward to better inspect the haphazard bandaging. "It's just-!"

"…He did this, didn't he?" the silverette said quietly, trailing a finger along the white gauze and causing the brunette to shiver. "Your father, he…"

"…Just recently," the violet-eyed male muttered, not daring to raise his eyes from the plate. "It was…just once. I've been at my jobs or studying at the library for the most part, so I don't often see him when drunk. Last night…" He paused, and then shook his head. "Last night I simply had bad timing when coming home after a late shift. But…it's alright. I…thank you for worrying about me. It…I don't think you'd understand quite how much that means to me."

"It _isn't _alright! Roddy, I…" Gilbert's voice failed him as Roderich offered him a small smile the continued eating. This hadn't been the first time Roderich's father had acquired a drinking problem, and from the sound of it, thankfully, it wasn't as bad as before, but it was quickly getting there.

The last time the Austrian's father had fallen into a drunken spiral, Roderich couldn't so much as walk into the same room as his father without the elder male attempting to do something to him. It had gotten to the point where being in the same house was actually _dangerous_ and Gilbert and Elizabeta would often trade-off protection duty by demanding that the musician stay at their home for up to a week at the time. Since Elizabeta _was_ a female, it was much harder for her to convince her parents to allow a male to stay with them, but happily, Ludwig was very understanding of the brunette's situation and would often cave to his older brother's demands that they be allowed to help.

_"He is scared that we may get deported."_

The words echoed in the back of Gilbert's mind, making the silverette's stomach turn in an uncomfortable matter. His mouth had gone dry and he suddenly found his appetite had disappeared. He pushed his plate away slowly, earning a small frown from Roderich who had just finished his own, much to the albino's relief. The idea of the Austrian being deported, having to go away for only God knew how long, scared Gilbert nearly as much as the thought of Roderich's _father_ hurting him. He couldn't allow the Austrian to be deported, he _wouldn't_. And he snapped.

"I won't allow it," he said, shaking his head firmly. "Deported? Like fuck I'd allow that."

"G-Gilbert?" Roderich yelped in surprise, watching as the albino jumped from his seat. "What are you…?"

The silverette shook his head again and stepped forward, dropping to one knee in front of the other, earning another loud noise of surprise. "Gilbert!? Whatareyoudoing!?" his words came out slurred, his glasses sliding several inches down his noise as he scrambled to keep from falling over in shock."You're not…you can't be…Gilbert…"

The Austrian's mind was sent into a spiral. Only a few hours ago, they'd both admitted to long-hidden love for each other, and now… Now this? Roderich gulped, doing his best to avoid the silverette's eyes. He knew if he looked into the beautiful crimson orbs he loved so dearly, he wouldn't be able to say no to anything Gilbert asked. They were both still young, still new to the relationship, still—

"Live with me, Roderich."

"Gilbert, we can't! We're too young for ma—what?" Roderich blinked, feeling heat rise in his cheeks as it dawned on him what the other had said. "You…what?"

"…Live with me?" Gilbert repeated, giving the Austrian a questioning look. "Live with me, and West, here, in this house." _What on earth did he think I was going to say…?_

"I… O-oh," the brunette felt as if his cheeks were on fire and he hid his hands in his face. He'd over-reacted and made a complete fool of himself. Of _course_ the Prussian wasn't going to _propose_, they'd only been _together_ for three hours at most. Even _Gilbert_ wasn't so thick he'd ask a question _that_ serious that quickly. Despite his normal foolish antics, Roderich would admit Gilbert was the respectable sort when it came to love. He took important matters seriously—even if it was in a rather unorthodox way. "I…I would love to stay here if you're serious, but…Ludwig would never approve, Gilbert. You two have enough to deal with." _To live here, with Gilbert…_ he thought, feeling his chest lighten at the thought. _It would be nice…to stay in a place where someone actually cared…where someone loved me. That's what makes the house a home, isn't it?_

"I don't care," Gilbert interrupted, pulling Roderich's hands away from his face. "Come and live here… You've already got that room upstairs, and we have the guest room for you to sleep in. I'll give you my room and sleep on the fucking _couch_ if I have to, but I _won't_ let you continue to live like you are now! Dammit, Roderich! You weigh less that _Kiku,_ and that's saying something, and you're taller than he is, which only makes it _worse! _You're completely destroying yourself, Roddy… And if you're sent away—if you don't do something to avoid being deported, what thehell is going to happen to all that you worked so hard for, huh!? Your dreams, your music and…and…" The word "me" had almost passed the albino's lips, but something stopped him as he stared up at the brunette with a determined expression.

"I don't care what West says. I'll deal with him, but Roderich… Whatever it takes! I don't fucking care. I'll walk down to the local church and demand we be married, right now, if that's what it takes. I love you, Roderich, more than live itself twice over, and…and…" _I don't want him to suffer anymore. He's been through enough shit…I'm supposed to be his hero. I'm supposed to be able to protect him…but…_

"…I can't leave my father," Roderich tried, wincing as he said it. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to return to his father, but in the end, the man _was_ his father, and he couldn't abandon his family. If he left like his mother had…his father might not actually be able to take it.

"Father!?" Gilbert spat, feeling his eye twitch dangerously. "That man isn't a father—at least, he doesn't act like it! He can't see how much pain he's causing you, at all! Dammit, he's killing you, Roddy!"

"Gilbert…"

"I can't lose you…" the albino said quietly, head bowed. "I…can't. If you were deported...I don't know what I'd do. I couldn't leave West alone, but I couldn't ask him to come with me either…and if something worse happened, if that 'father' of yours were to push you too far over the edge…"

A faint smile graced Roderich's lips as he extended his hand, gently wrapping it around Gilbert's neck and pulling the albino closer so that his head was resting in the brunette's lap. "Gilbert…thank you," he murmured, threading his fingers through the silver locks. "You have no idea how much your offer means to me, or how badly I want to accept it. But…my father…"

"We can check on him. You're only a few blocks away…"

"…You really mean this, don't you?"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, tilting his head, a single crimson eye peering out from under his bangs. "Roddy, no offense, but… No shit, Sherlock. I don't do stuff I don't want to do—and I sure as fuck wouldn't invite someone I didn't want in the house into the house."

"Heh…" Roderich smiled faintly and bent forward, grazing his lips over Gilbert's forehead. "I know you don't…I know." _How on earth did I end up so lucky to have someone like him?_

"I love you, my little bird."

"Little…? Hey! I'm not that much shorter than you! You can't—mmnnfgh…"


	7. Chapter 6

I'm updating sort of soon here, and I'm not all that sure I should be... but I guess I'll just have to get over that, ne?

Just to avoid confusion, there _is_ a several-week time-skip between this chapter and the last, and no, not much happened in that time. Anything that needs to be mentioned is summarized here. Namely, I just want some time to pass so it doesn't seem as if all this is happening over the weekend or something... which wouldn't make much sense. In short; I want to get from Point A to Point B, but I don't want to take a bunch of left turns and end up at Q on accident and end up giving something away.

Anyway, I hope this chapter is as enjoyable for you all as the last. I'm actually not all that cruel to Ludwig in this chapter, and he manages to make it through almost the entire thing without being traumatized or scared at all. Almost. Hurhurhur. Why almost? Pffft. Read. Duh.

Sorry for not updating this weekend, by the way. I ended up spending almost all of Saturday at the mall with **_ToastedWhiskers_** and we saw some reallllly crappy movie about the Nazis with fake history and general bad humour and lameness. (There was even a guy in high-German power named Ludwig!) We made a LOT of Hetalia jokes, and we felt like assholes sitting in the theatre because we were laughing ourselves silly over all the fake history--and the jokes we made. We're bad people.

I _did_ manage to buy a scarf that looks like the one off Prussia's drama CD and this keychain that says, "I'm AWESOME. What's your excuse?" from Hot Topic. So that was cool.

I'd like to thank _**Amethyst DragonRider**_ for BETAing for me again, because she is simply amazing. Seriously. I'd give you cookies if you lived near be--cookies made of awesome. Or something.

So... yeah. REVIEW TIME!

**Azeeza: **YOU TOTALLY JINXED LUDWIG! SHAME! ...No, just kidding. Ahaha~ The last chapter was pretty angsty. I think I've made it my goal in life to depress people or something... but I'm glad you still enjoyed it. Making Gilbert freak out was interesting to write. It's really challenging to take a character as... well, unserious as himself and make him act as I did, but a lot of people say that I do a good job and it works for his character. I wonder if this is all just getting more natural for me... Whee.

**Amethyst DragonRider:** You _deserve_ the praise! You've helped me SO much, and it's because of you that I'm still able to update, so thank you so much for all you're help. I'm really glad you liked this chapter, and I was thrilled to know you were pestering me for seven (well, not _pestering_, but you understand what I mean, right?) But yeah, thanks for the BETA and the comments~

**RoboPhantom:** Ahaha~ Don't worry. Gilbert will make things better. He has a knack for pulling those little things off (because he is _awesome_, after all.) Sadly, Ludwig's reaction to the talk isn't shown in this chapter, but I might save the idea for later use.

**Gosai Ryuu:** Now, now... Let's be nice to Roddy's daddy. Without him, we wouldn't have a Roderich, now would we? Still... I'd like to give him a good kick on the back-end myself. -sigh- Let's just hope things get better, ne? And I'm sorry Gilbert didn't propose, ahaha~ I thought a few hours was a little early for that. But maybe later~

**Kami011:** Or maybe it's Francis who has been spending a little too much time around Roderich~ And Kami, I think we'd _all_ like a boyfriend like Gilbert... we all would... ehehe...

**Gaarahottie:** Yeah... Not much luck for Roderich in that last chapter, huh? Maa... Things will get better. Eventually. Or something.

**gwendal's wife:** ...Don't die on me, Roddy. O.o Breath in your nose, and out you're mouth. Try to control those giggles. (You were imagining Gilbert in wet-spandex, too! ADMIT IT!) Roderich's dad is a bit of an ass, but we needed him to have Roderich... So we'll have to count is as even, okay? But I'm really glad you liked the idea I used... -chuckle-. Hopefully, this chapter will please you as much as the last one seems to have. I am really starting to actually put together a lot of my ideas, and I'm hoping they'll all work out alright. (Also, I posted. I still need to in that other thread, though. -shame-) AND DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE!!!

**Silver and Gray:** ...I think... you just broke the record for the longest review I've ever gotten. Wow...I had to read your review a few times before I could word together a response, and I still think I sound a bit silly. First off, I'm so happy this story touched you. I really enjoyed reading your reactions to some of the larger scenes, and the fact that I managed to make you both want to laugh and cry really perked me up. As a musician myself, I really enjoy that some of my readers are able to understand the "emotion through music" point I'm trying to get across, and I'm so relieaved that it's working. (Also, I enjoyed writing that scene with Prussia sitting on Austria. I kept giggling because I had the perfect mental picture in my mind.) I actually drew a rough picture of the room (just blue-print style) and I redesigned it soooo many times, I was really worried that people would have no idea what I was trying to say. I might try and make the room using the SIMS or something to see if I can make it better. Thank you so much for your review, but really... please don't bow down. _ I'm not that good. Still, I'm REALLY glad you wrote about all your emotional reactions to the scenes that you did, and it really gave me a better feel for just what the hell it is I'm writing and knowing that I'm not spewing random crap that's confusing you all.

**Hazel-Beka:** X3 You reviewed to me again. YAY! Maa!_ **Amethyst DragonRider **_is awesome, isn't she? (Hehehe. We're praising you, AD~) I'm super grateful to her, and she did an awesome job with Duties as well~ (_ And you did an epic job writing it. -stops ranting-) I'm glad the start of the chapter amused you though, and trust me, I had a WONDERFUL mental image of Roderich's fine rendition of what was going on with that spandex. (God knows we'd all love to see it... -would so push Roderich into the pool with him-) As for Roderich's problems... I felt like I've been throwing a lot of this story's drama on him, and I felt a bit bad. I tried to write the chapter in getting some of his problems out, but trying to keep into account that, while Roderich might dump everything to Gilbert, there was also the idea that they'd known each other all their lives and I could only stall with Gilbert knowing something was wrong for so long before becoming redundant. Happily, from this point forward, things are going to speed up (just at the beginning) then slow down again (slower than the rest of the story) and hopefully I'll be able to find that slow jog that I'm aiming for (because now I have a lot I want to fit in, but I don't want to do it too quickly.) Still, despite my sort of long-jump attack in the last chapter, I'm glad I did it in a way that didn't repulse your or anything. _ I rewrote that conversation soooo many times in my head, but when I had it in text for the first time, I was hesitant to change anything because it _seemed_ to be somewhat plausible (and yes, Gilbo dives right into the idea of fixing the problem. He's awesome like that...) AND OH MY GOD YES! You are the ONLY person to comment on the bird line! I'm _so_ glad someone picked up on that! As soon as the chapter was about to end, I knew immediately how to work it in (corny or not) and I'm doing an internal happy dance since someone noticed it.) 

**

* * *

Chapter Six**

Ludwig sighed softly as he moved around his kitchen, sipping absently at a mug of coffee. The early morning light filtered in through the transparent curtains, giving the kitchen a soft and relaxing glow. As he passed the table for the fifth time, he stopped and turned, taking a seat in one of the chairs his brother had neglected to push back in the night previous. _Everything is so calm these days…_ he thought with a small smile. For the first time in a very long time, things seemed to be going as close to perfect as possible.

Almost two weeks had passed since his brother had come to him asking (rather, demanding, as Gilbert had announced rather than questioned) about Roderich's living conditions. The blond German had always known his Austrian neighbor didn't lead the best life, but he'd never known it to be as horrible as the silverette had explained it to be. Still, despite his dislike of having too many people floating around his home, he couldn't help but enjoy the newest addition to their home: Roderich.

At first, Ludwig had been somewhat skeptical of the idea, but after Gilbert's story, he'd become much more lenient. He'd kept quiet for the most part as the brunette was moving in, although he didn't act it. Much like Gilbert's so-called dog (which the blond was still convinced was a wolf), while he didn't act like it, he was rather fond of the new presence in the house.

First and foremost; the two were much happier, and Ludwig notice it almost immediately. Gilbert had yet to stop smiling since Roderich had moved in, and the brunette himself was already starting to look healthier. Sweet music filled the house so often now, and the younger brother, despite his preference to silence, found himself looking forward to whenever Roderich and Gilbert would disappear upstairs together (as long as their destination was the music room, that is.)

The only negative Ludwig could find in the situation was that he seemed to have made a habit of walking into rooms at the _exact_ wrong moment to find the two in rather suspicious positions (and he'd yet to decide whose luck was worse—his, or Roderich's.) Still, even the interruptions had managed to work out their own routine in the household. Roderich would almost always turn a very interesting shade of crimson and insist that _absolutely nothing_ had, or was happening, while trying to explain that the situation was far more innocent that it appeared. Gilbert, on the other hand, would spend most of the time alternating between hysterical laughter, cursing his brother for poor "cock-blocking" timing (which would usually make Roderich choke at the words), and Ludwig would remain unconvinced, excuse himself from the room, and try very hard to remember to knock in the future (Which, in his defense, he had remembered. A few times...)

"I honestly don't think I should have to…" Ludwig mumbled in distaste. "It's my house as much as Gilbert's…I shouldn't have to knock before entering every room. It isn't as if they don't both have their own…" He felt his cheeks heat slightly at the idea, and coughed, trying to cover up his flustered face, even if no one was there to see it. He couldn't _really_ complain, however. His brother was _happy_, happier than he'd seen the silverette in years, and Roderich was smiling everyday now. Something the German hadn't seen since meeting the brunette. Besides, when they were together at least, the two of them were utterly adorable, which made it difficult to stay angry with them. They were both fools, but it was obvious to even Ludwig, who had enough issues with his own love life, that the two were very much in love.

Sighing, Ludwig leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He could faintly hear the soft trickle of music from upstairs, and he was tempted to leave the kitchen in favour of the living room where he'd be able to hear better, but refrained from doing so. He felt as if he were intruding when he listened to Roderich's "concerts" in secret. The music was there because of Gilbert, and, at least Ludwig felt, it was _meant_ for Gilbert as well.

"Maybe I should just start breakfast…" the German mumbled, glancing toward the stove. "Gilbert is almost always cooking the meals. I'm sure he'd enjoy a break. Besides, I'm not that bad of a cook…"

* * *

Gilbert sighed in content as he rolled over onto his stomach, nearly dislodging himself from the love-seat he was currently laying on. The chair—red velvet plush Victorian-style—had been bought and moved into the room by Gilbert himself with spare money he'd had sitting in the bank for a while from his various odd jobs. Roderich had raised an eyebrow the first time he'd seen it. The chair was, of course, beautiful, but that didn't explain why it was there—and he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Given its old-fashioned style, it must have cost a fair amount, but the silverette assured him it would go to good use. After all, he needed somewhere to sit when he was listening to Roderich play.

"Hey, Roddy, you thirsty?"

The slow piano music that had filled the room came to a stop as Roderich glanced up from the keyboard and tilted his head to the side, his violet eyes reflecting the surprise he felt. The Austrian still hadn't gotten use to Gilbert's need to shower him with kind gestures. Of course, the silverette still teased him, it wouldn't be Gilbert without that, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the attention all the same.

"Roddy?"

"Ah…" Roderich jumped, tearing himself out of his reverie. His gaze moved to the silverette, who was now peering curiously at him over the arm of the loveseat, one eyebrow quirked upward in a silent question. "Haven't I asked you before to stop calling me that?" he frowned, earning a small smirk from Gilbert before he continued. "In any case… A drink would be lovely. Do you still have any—"

"Tea," Gilbert said with a nod, jumping to his feet. "Lemon tea, nice and warm, with extra sugar—because you like it sweet." The albino grinned, enjoying the slight look of bewilderment on Roderich's face. "I just picked more up the other day…and what's with that look? Of course I know how you make your tea. I'm awesome like that."

"…_Awesome_, right, of course. How silly of me," the Austrian muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I suppose I can forgive you this time." Gilbert grinned, darting out of the room before Roderich could retort.

* * *

"Get eggs…separate egg yolks from the whites…?" Ludwig frowned, giving the recipe he was currently reading an annoyed look. "Why? They're both going in to the same bowl in the end… That's inefficient and a waste of time." Shaking his head, the blond German reached for the eggs and continued to read down the recipe, making small alterations that seemed much more practical in his opinion as he went.

When Gilbert entered the kitchen, Ludwig's back was to him, standing hear the sink and washing what looked like noodles. The albino quirked an eyebrow and stepped forward, standing on his toes to better see over his brother's tall frame, trying to figure out just what it was the other was doing.

"…Uh, West?" he called uneasily, taking another step forward. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Cooking," Ludwig answered bluntly, turning around, his hands full of clean noodles. "What does it look like?"

"_Cooking?"_ Gilbert repeated, eyeing his brother oddly. "Shit, seriously?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I just haven't seen you cooking in a while."

"What does that—Nevermind. What are you doing down here so early?"

"Making tea."

"Oh, really? The kettle is one the…" Ludwig trailed off, turning around to stare at Gilbert's back in shock. The elder was half-hidden in the kitchen's pantry, swearing quietly as he knocked what sounded like several bags of chips off a shelf. "You're _what?_"

"Making _tea_, West," the albino repeated, backing out of the cupboard and shutting it. "You know…flavoured water? You drink it? Sometimes you add some sugar or milk, and Arthur usually has it with—"

"I know what tea is, bruder," the blond German signed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "I just never thought I'd see the day you made anything weaker than coffee."

"Well, you haven't seen it yet. This is for Roddy."

"Roderich…? Is he awake as well?"

"We've _both_ been awake for a few hours. When the hell did you get up?"

"…A while ago," Ludwig lied, turning back to the stove. Truth be told, he'd only woken up just over an hour ago. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so late—let alone woken up _after_ his brother, but it left him feeling refreshed, and much less stressed than he'd been feeling lately.

"So how are things going with Italy?"

"Ita… His name is Feliciano."

"Yeah, well… Your name is Ludwig, isn't it? But I call you 'West,' anyway." Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the island counter, an amused smirk dancing across his features as he waited for the tea water to boil. "It's my nickname for him."

"How creative…"

"You're dodging the question, West," the Prussian said slyly, grinning as he leaned forward. "Have you claimed his vital regions yet?"

"BRUDER!"

"What? You're both of age!" a pout formed on pale lips as the albino lifted himself up onto the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. "Seriously… Older brothers should be embarrassed about their siblings sex-life, or at least tease them for it. I have to be the only brother in the entire school whose kid sibling is still a _virgin."_

"_That_,_"_ Ludwig blushed heavily, "is _none_ of your business. Besides, Alfred's—"

"You _really_ think Francis hasn't taken Mattie yet?"

"Alfred would murder him."

"Yeah, well… What he doesn't know keeps his brother safe, doesn't it?"

The blond quirked an eyebrow and wondered if he was going to regret his next question. "…How would _you_ know about Matthew's sex life?"

"I wouldn't," the Prussian admitted with a shrug. "_Francis_, however, doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, and I'm willing to bet he's already landed himself a spot in the morgue—Ah, water's done."

Ludwig could only watch in silence as Gilbert all but _skipped_ to the stove and began preparing a cup of tea. Be it the shock that his elder brother actually knew how to _make_ the drink, or that he'd dared talk about other people's sex lives so casually (as Ludwig was the only person other than the albino himself—and perhaps Austria—who knew that Gilbert's sex-life was about as active as a dead chicken's) he wasn't sure, but his ability to speak was long gone.

"I'll just leave this down here then," Gilbert said, setting Roderich's tea on the table. "You're almost done, aren't you? I'll go get Roddy—"

"Hasn't he asked you to stop calling him that?"

"Mein Gott, you too, West? It's an _awesome_ nickname, and he should be honoured that my awesomeness has given it to him."

"East…"

"_Fine,_" the albino grunted, muttering under his breath about being offended and continued. "I'll get _Roderich_, and be back down in a minute."

"I'm sure Roderich will be grateful to you for using his real name."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure he'd be even _more_ grateful if _you_ learned to knock."

As Gilbert walked up the stairs, Ludwig felt his cheeks heat immediately, and he almost lost to the temptation of throwing the spatula in his hands at the back of his brother's head.

"Dummkopf…" he growled in annoyance, turning back to the stove. _Sometimes, I honestly wonder if I'm adopted…_ Ludwig thought with a sigh and pulled several plates out of the cabinet near his head. _It seems impossible that we could have been raised in the same house and turned out so different._

* * *

"I'm actually surprised, West. This isn't half-bad. I would have thought your cooking skills would have disappeared by now."

"Bruder," Ludwig said in a low tone, fixing his brother with a glare. "I'll have you know that I cook much more often than you'd think. All the nights you disappear or are too drunk to cook—"

"Hey! In my defense, whenever I'm too drunk to cook, you usually are as well!" Gilbert protested, waving a fork with a piece of wurst on it in his brother's face. "And I only do that once a week at most."

"The point being," the blond said in an exasperated tone, "I _can_ cook."

"It's quite good…" Roderich cut in, looking between the two brothers in concern. The last thing he wanted was for them to start fighting. Just a few nights ago, the albino had confided in him of worries that his brother had become more distant, and was starting to feel like a third wheel. "Thank you for making us breakfast, Ludwig."

"You're welcome," the younger brother nodded, pushing the plate toward the Austrian. "Please, help yourself."

As Roderich smiled politely and nodded, Gilbert let out a small sigh and leaned back in his chair, giving the ceiling a bored look before he suddenly sat up again.

"Hey, West…"

"What is it, bruder…?" Ludwig began in a quiet tone. It was too early to fight, but if Gilbert teased his cooking one more time…

"You're joining Roddy and me for a movie marathon tonight."

"A…what?" Ludwig and Roderich asked at the same time, giving the albino an odd look.

"A _movie marathon_," Gilbert repeated, rolling his eyes. "I just bought a box-set of zombie movies the other night. We're going to watch them."

"Zombie…movies?" Roderich repeated, looking uneasy. "…Does it have to be zombies?"

"Yes," Ludwig and Gilbert said at the same time, both of them boasting the same creepy grin.

"W-why?"

"Because, zombies are _awesome_."

Roderich felt something in his stomach plummet. He couldn't ever remember a time he heard Ludwig say the word 'awesome,' let alone at the same time as his brother over the same subject.

…_I can only hope tonight passes without any trouble._

* * *

"Phones ringing," Gilbert announced, raising an eyebrow when neither Roderich nor Ludwig made a move to pick it up. His eyes shifted toward the television, frowning as a man on screen was killed in a very bizarre manner, sending his blood spraying everywhere in a way that was very unrealistic. "Oi, West, the phone is ringing!"

"Then answer it," the blond commented in a bored tone, fixing his brother with an annoyed glare. "And if it isn't for you, take the time to _write the message down_ instead of memorizing half the details."

"Yeah, yeah…" the albino rolled his eyes and stood up, motioning for Roderich, who'd gotten to his feet at almost the exact same as he had, to stop moving. "Sit down, Roderich, I've got it. Don't bother pausing the movie, I've seen it before."

A scream filled the room as the albino left the room, followed by Ludwig's angry mutter of, "Why are you hacking off his arm? You can't kill a zombie like that…"

"It's a movie, Ludwig," Roderich said quietly, an audible gulp following shortly after. "I'm not sure perfect realism is their goal."

"Well, it should be. It can't be _frightening_ if there's no _realism_ to it. That takes away the idea of scaring the audience. They should put more effort into—"

Gilbert snorted loudly and slipped into the hallway, grabbing the cordless phone off its stand on a small coffee table. His brother could be quite cynical when it came to horror films, and the silverette found himself buying as many as he could, just to watch Ludwig as they viewed them together. It was all too amusing—and now Roderich was there as well. The brunette was far from skittish, but he'd never known the Austrian to handle horror films, or blood well.

"Hello," he said in a cheery tone, "Weillschmidt residence, this is Gilbert the awe…huh? I—what?" Something in Gilbert's stomach dropped as he listened to the soft voice on the other end. His crimson eyes widened in horror as his hand began trembling, barely keeping his grip on the phone. "N-no…" he gulped loudly, shaking his head at the empty hall. "That…I…no. T-thank you for calling. I'll…be sure to let my brother know. …N-no, we're fine. I…we don't need that. Thank you… Please…allow the family to decide. They have…much more right to do so. I… No, thank you. I need to go."

The phone fell to the ground with a loud clatter, knocking the battery cover off and sending the rechargeable pack skidding across the floor. His vision blurred and the strength in his legs failed him as he fell to the ground in a heap, using his arms to support him. Thoughts were racing in his mind too quickly for him to keep up and all he could this was that this couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. He gulped and glanced around, wrapping his arms tightly around himself. He needed his brother, and he needed him _now._

"LUDWIG! RODERICH!" Gilbert cried, his voice cracking slightly. He hadn't used Ludwig's full name in almost ten years, and it would have sounded awkward on his lips had he not been so desperate. His gaze fell to the floor as he felt bile rise in his throat. "No…" he murmured, shaking his head, the word poured from his lips again and again. The tremors that shook his hands had moved to his entire body, sending violent shivers up and down his spin. "No…no, no, no, no… _Why…?"_


	8. Chapter 7

Whoa... I swear I uploaded this. Sorry for the slow update! Chapter eight is in the works, so I hope to have that up for all of you soon! I apologize for the fail-tastic ending.

Sorry for the double-upload! I added the wrong file-copy! A million thanks for _**Amethyst DragonRider**_ for betaing for me again!

Time to answer the reviews!

**Under the Apfelbau:** First off, I love your avatar. It's adorable~ And I'm not sure you have to reviewed to me before... I'd go back and check, but really I'm grateful that you're doing this for me at all. I'm quite honoured you've been following my story so loyally. I always feel so happy when people tell me things like this... (but you're such a bad girl. Up at for in the morning? Get some rest!) I'm glad you like the mood of the story, and hopefully this chapter meets your expectations.

**NinjAngel:** Kesesesesese~ Aren't I cruel? This chapter has a cliffie, too (sort of...) But it shouldn't be as cruel as the last one. Enjoy!

**Scottypop**: Hey, don't feel bad, I created Roddy's daddy (well, the one in this story) and I don't like him much either... But I gotta be nice to him. For now at least, after all, he's the reason Roderich gets to live with Gilbert now, after all. I'm kinda surprised I manged to shock you into silence with this chapter... I didn't think it was all that good, but hopefully this will make you feel better.

**Azeeza: **Pffft. We all know in secret Ludwig is just like his brother. He runs around the empty house with beer, cackling and shouting about his awesomeness. And love for Italy, obviously.

**Kami011:** Do...? Do what? Have I done something to you? -grins- It was just a little cliffie?

**ChibiKin:** I doubt this is one of the best you've ever read.... I'm really not all that good, but thank you. I'm so glad you like this story. Enjoy the next chapter!

**GASP:** OH YEAH!? WELL SNAPE KILLS DUMBLEDORE! Mwuahahaha~n

**Gaarahottie:** Really? Was the cliffie that good? Gosh... I'm honoured you enjoyed that so much. I hope this chapter follows it up nicely enough...

**Wessi: **Personally, I think you should do all of them. Remember, my story won't be taken offline if I have anything to say about it, so.... take your time reading, okay? Enjoy!

**Hallelujah-Siztiks:** Those are some interesting guesses, my friend. Hopefully this chapter will be interesting for you.

**LithiumKiss:** Prustria is my absolute favourite pairing of Hetalia (with USxUK in a close second.) Fanfiction really does lack stories about them, but I know of a few author's who do an awesome job. (You've read Hazel-Baka's stuff, right? She's got some awesome stuff!) Glad you like my story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.

**Hazel-Beka:** You really need to stop apologizing... Honestly. XD I'm glad my pacing has finally worked itself out, and I hope this one is just as good to you as the last one. Not more than a few hours passes in this chapter, but I sort of ramble... at least, I think I do, anyway. But yeah... maybe I really am being too cruel to Ludwig. Soon he'll start entering rooms with his eyes closed and shout, _"IF ANYONE IS IN HERE, THEY SHOULD MAKE THEMSELVES DECENT IN FIVE SECONDS OR HIDE!" _God knows he'll end up getting too used to doing it an he'll start it up at school. But it really is sweet that Gilbert remembers that stuff, huh? (But it wouldn't be Gilbert if he didn't claim it was because of his awesome or something...) I do apologize for the typos... D8 I think I"m forever cursed to upload chapters that have typos in them, even if I've got awesome BETA's (I luff you Dragon-sama!) As for the zombie movies... Well, those will never make sense. Ludwig should just give up now... but I really hope this chapter is epic enough to make you happy. DX I really hate the ending... but the rest should be alright.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Ludwig couldn't remember the last time he'd run so quickly in his life and he was out of the living room in no less than a second with Roderich at his heels. The two burst into the hallway, eyes wide and frantic, searching for the cause of Gilbert's distress, but before either could speak, the albino had launched himself into his brother's arms, burying his face in the blond's shoulder. The look on the German's face melted into one of shock as he looked desperately at the brunette who stood just a few feet away, just as bewildered by the albino's actions.

"B-Bruder?" Ludwig choked, awkwardly wrapping his arms around the elder's shoulders. His gaze shifted from the top of Gilbert's head to Roderich, who shrugged and shook his head, his expression just as concerned and shocked as his own. "Bruder? What on earth happened? This isn't like you, you—"

"Grampa Fritz had a stroke…" the albino said in a trembling tone, pressing his face further into Ludwig's shoulder and muffling his voice. "H-he's dead… That was… the hospital b-back in Berlin. H-he's gone. Grampa is… is…" He shook his head furiously, unable to continue. Ludwig's arms tightened around Gilbert's shoulders in a vain attempt to comfort his older brother, but the effort felt useless.

"Gilbert, I… I'm so sorry…" he murmured, rubbing light circles on his brother's back. Roderich stepped forward quietly, joining Ludwig's side and wrapped an arm around Gilbert's shoulders, flashing the younger of the two brothers a worried look. Neither could ever claim having seen the albino cry before. Not even the death of the Weilschmidt parents had pushed Gilbert far enough to allow tears to fall, but given the history with their child, it was understandable. Fritz had been more of a parent to Gilbert than either of the Weilschmidt's had ever been.

Heart-wrenching sobs filled the hallway. The sound was painful and the force of it shook Gilbert's entire body. The entire time, the word _why _had yet to stop echoing in his mind. Where he had stood as Ludwig's strength in life, Frederick had been his. It was Fritz himself who provided the two brothers with plane tickets to get away from Germany, and signed for the house Gilbert had bought with inheritance money from their parents under his own name to allow the purchase to be legal.

The arms around him had tightened, and he shifted closer to his brother, trying desperately to calm himself down—which wasn't working well for him at all. He hiccuped once and the tears seemed to start all over, causing Ludwig to look around the hallway in panic, his blue eyes falling on Roderich, who looked just as panicked as he did. _"Help me,"_ he mouthed silently, nodding toward Gilbert.

The brunette didn't need a second invitation, and in second he had gently pulled the albino from his brother's arms into his own. Nimble fingers threaded themselves through silver tresses, while Roderich murmured quietly into Gilbert's ear.

"Gilbert, look at me…" he began quietly, pulling away just enough for him to cup the silverette's cheek and urge him to look up, but still keep his other arm around Gilbert's waist. The look in the beautiful crimson eyes that stared back into his own violet ones made his heart lurch and stomach plummet. Eyes that used to be so full of life, cocky, always looking at others with a 'more-awesome-than-you' aura, and, at least when Gilbert was looking at Roderich, love, looked almost dead in comparison. Tears pooled at the corner of Roderich's eyes, and he bit his lip, swallowing the thick lump in his throat that was making it hard to breathe. To see a friend in pain was one thing, but to see the one you loved most completely shattered was something else completely, and the brunette had lost himself for several seconds as he tried to form the words he wanted to say.

"Gilbert, Bertie…" trailing off, Roderich sighed. He'd never known very much about the brothers' upbringing. Gilbert would always smile sadly and turn away when it was mentioned; making an excuse to get away from the speaker, and Ludwig would usually follow after him as quickly as possible. People had learned not to ask about it, but from the small bits and pieces they did know or stumbled upon, it was easy to conclude Ludwig's had been far happier than Gilbert's. It was common knowledge that the silverette had, more or less, single-handedly raised his brother himself, but, aside from his somewhat stoic personality, the younger of the two brothers was usually a happy, or at least very content, person.

Roderich had never met the Weillschmidt parents, but he could remember the day they died. Ludwig had been very upset for several weeks after, but Gilbert's reaction had been very different. His normal behavior hadn't changed in the slightest, almost to the point where people had thought it was shock that kept him from reacting, but the gentleness he used with his brother when he would grow upset assured them otherwise.

Frederick, however, was something different entirely. Roderich had never met him in person, but the way Gilbert talked about him, the way his face would shine, and his eyes would sparkle with admiration, the brunette felt as if he did. Anyone who knew Gilbert knew Fritz, or at least about him, and there wasn't a single person you could ask who had talked to the albino more than once that _didn't_ know at least _something _about the old man.

Countless times he'd heard the silverette rant about the elderly gentleman, eagerly sharing news of summer visits with him, or even conversations they'd had through letters or on the phone. Up until a few weeks ago, the self-proclaimed Prussian had talked about little else other than the fact that "Grampa Fritz" was coming to visit over summer, but now…

"Why…?"

Roderich winced as the question was asked again with Gilbert's tone trembling worse than before. He sighed softly, shaking his head slowly and ran his thumb under the silverette's eyes. He couldn't think of a single reasonable answer to the albino's question, but he doubted there was anyone who could. He pressed his lips against the others forehead lightly, pulling away with a sorrowful expression as he tried once again to speak, praying that he'd say something that might prove to be of some comfort.

"I… don't know, Gilbert," he murmured, trailing his hand down the Prussian's pale cheek to his shoulder and under his arm to wrap it around his waist once more. "I don't think anyone has an answer to that… Not a good one at the very least."

The look on Gilbert's face made him wince. He wasn't nearly the word smith Gilbert was, who always seemed to have something to say in any given situation—be it appropriate or not—and the brunette was once again lost for words. None would come, and when he really thought about it, none could be said. There were no words for someone who'd lost someone that precious to them. If he had ever lost Gilbert…he didn't think, rather, he _knew,_ there would be _nothing_, anyone could say to make him feel better. It was obvious to him that the silverette was working a painful attempt to calm himself down, if the contorted expression on his face was anything to go by, and that was the last thing he needed right now.

Smiling gently, Roderich gave Gilbert's waist a light tug, pulling the silverette against his chest and resumed running his fingers through his hair. "…I can't give you an answer, Gilbert, as much as I wish I could. If I could turn back time, even if only for a day, I would and take you to him, anything that you wanted…but as much as it kills me, I can't." He paused, raising the hand that had been wrapped around Gilbert's waist to wipe his own eyes before replacing it and continuing. "…However, please, don't hold anything back. It's…alright to let it out. Whatever you might be thinking, whatever you might be feeling, don't hold it in, Bertie. Your brother and I are right here with you, and we always will…so let everything that needs out, out."

As Roderich finished speaking, a light hiccupping filled the hallway. Gilbert's shoulders had starting shaking again, and it was obvious he was trying not to cry, but the effort proved useless as a few seconds later his face was buried in the blue fabric of the Austrian's coat and soft sobs echoed in the hall once more. Ludwig stood beside the pair, watching in sorrowful awe as the two seemed to melt into each other's comfort completely, fitting together almost like pieces of a puzzle. Roderich's hand was running soothing circles over his brother's back, and whether it was because his fingers were more skilled than Ludwig's due to his musical talent, or some reason on a much deeper level, it seemed to be working and Gilbert's sobs were slowly losing volume and intensity.

Comfort had never been something Ludwig was particularly skilled with, and he rarely had the means to practice. It had almost always been Gilbert comforting him rather than the other way around, and the only person he could ever remember offering comfort to besides himself would have been Feliciano, and, on the very rare occasion, Kiku. He didn't have a clue what to do, or where to start, and it frustrated him greatly… He would normally avoid asking for help unless absolutely necessary, and knowing that someone other than himself, Gilbert's own brother, could bring him more relief from pain hurt him greatly. However, he would have rather watched Roderich quell his brother's tears than watch them grow while he was left clueless as to what he should do.

"…Can you bring him back into the living room?" Ludwig asked quietly, making Roderich look up. "Stop the movie, and sit him down on the couch. I'll join you two shortly."

Roderich nodded without question, and gave Gilbert's back a light nudge. The silverette looked up, sniffling pitifully, trying to rid his face of the mess that dripped from his nose and eyes, but the brunette merely smiled and shook his head, pulling the albino's hands away from his face and leading him back into the living room, pausing the movie as he lowered Gilbert onto the couch, quickly taking the seat on his right.

Crimson eyes stared dully at the floor in front of him, their gaze broken when a slender hand tilted his face up again. Roderich tugged the white cravat he dawned on his neck away, and wrapped it around his fingers, using it as a makeshift handkerchief, earning a faint look of surprise, then gratitude from Gilbert, who didn't protest when the brunette began to dry his face.

"…Blow," the Austrian said quietly after a moment's hesitation, pressing the cloth to Gilbert's nose. The Prussian paused, clearly uneasy about following the order. Roderich had always been the clean type, just as uptight as his brother about it, and he'd always been particularly fussy about his clothes being in order. Gilbert had often teased about how 'girly' the habit was, and to see him making such an offer was both surprising and very flattering. "It's fine, Gilbert. I can wash it…and I have more than one if that doesn't work."

The silverette didn't wait to be told twice, and silently did as he was told, feeling a very faint sense of amusement as Roderich pulled a face when he felt moisture through the fabric of his neck garment.

"…You told me to," he muttered in a hoarse tone, his throat and voice raw from the sudden rush of tears he hadn't shed in years. Roderich blinked and looked up, shaking his head as he set the cloth aside and ran his hand down the side of Gilbert's face lightly, watching carefully for any more stray tears.

"I know I did, Bertie." He smiled lightly and lowered his hand slowly to hold Gilbert's lightly in both of his own. "I never said I was upset."

"You look like you want to burn it…"

"That would be a waste," Roderich frowned and looked down at his cravat. "There is no point in burning it when all it needs is to be washed."

Gilbert only grunted in response, opting to lean over and rest his head against Roderich's shoulder with a heavy sigh. His eyes still stung, and the strong taste of salt coated his lips. How long had it been since he last cried—let alone that hard? An arm had wrapped itself lightly around his shoulders, and he subconsciously shifted closer to the warmth, digging his fingers into the fabric of Roderich's coat. "…Where's West?" he finally mumbled, tilting is head up just enough for him to see the Austrian's face. "Is…he alright? He didn't know Grampa as well as me, but…"

"He's fine, Gilbert," Roderich cut him off with a small shake of the head. "He went into the kitchen to—" But before he could finished, Ludwig had entered the room again, carrying three glasses of what appeared to be water. The brunette eyed them suspiciously, but the blond German caught his gaze and shook his head lightly. "We don't own any vodka, Roderich. Gilbert won't let it past the front door."

"Thanks, West…" Gilbert said quietly over the edge of his cup, sipping quietly at the water. It felt ice cold and stale against his throat, but it soothed the burning sensation from his tears and he gladly welcomed it. He moved to put the glass down, but his brother caught his wrist before he could reach the table and shook his head.

"Finish it, bruder," his voice was quiet, but firm. "You need to drink. Just finish the glass; I won't force you to drink anything else."

"I'm not going to get dehydrated from crying, West. You worry too damn much over the stupidest shit." Gilbert rolled his eyes lightly, but didn't protest and finished the glass quickly, dropping it onto the table and reclaiming Roderich's shoulder as a pillow. His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy, and he shifted his body, maneuvering around the couch until his legs were draped over a surprised Ludwig's lap, and his head resting in Roderich's lap. He was exhausted, and he couldn't figure out why he suddenly felt so sleepy. He yawned and struggled to keep his eyelids open, but the feeling of fatigue combined with the rhythmic movements of Roderich's fingers through his hair proved too much, and he was out almost immediately.

"…He's asleep," Roderich said quietly, a light frown gracing his lips as he glanced at Gilbert's glass. Faint white markings could be seen at the bottom of the glass, and the brunette felt his stomach plummet. "Ludwig, what did you-!?"

"Sleeping pills," the younger brother cut him off, sighing quietly. "I crushed two and put them in his water. They're already his, or I wouldn't have done it."

"His…?"

"A doctor prescribed them for him a few years ago. He had been having trouble sleeping due to stress, and they helped him nod off faster. I've made sure to keep refilling the prescription when I notice he's low, but they work much faster than I remembered them working. He hasn't had the problems as of late."

"You do know that it's illegal to lace someone's drink, Ludwig." Roderich's tone was soft, a faint lingering hint of disapproval in it. "What if something were to happen?"

"It won't," Ludwig said in a sharp tone that left no room for argument. "And I know it's illegal. I'm not a fool, Roderich."

"Then why would you—"

"Because this way is much easier and kinder for him. Do you really think he'd be able to, let alone willingly sleep tonight without some outside force?"

Opening his mouth to retort, Roderich found he had no words to say, and no arguments to make. He had no doubt in his mind that Ludwig's words were true, and the last thing Gilbert needed was the effects of sleep deprivation on his already tired mind. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he shifted himself on the couch, leaning his back against the cushions and moving the albino's neck into a position that was much less likely to hurt his neck without removing his head from his lap.

"…I suppose you're correct," he muttered in a dull tone, dragging his nails lightly over Gilbert's scalp in what he hoped was a relaxing gesture for the slumbering silverette. "…We can only hope that his dreams are less cruel to him than the real world."

* * *

"Get out! GET OUT! I don't want to see your face for the rest of the night!" The scream of a woman's voice echoed throughout the empty street though an open window. In the background, the sound of a small child crying could be heard, almost completely washed out by the woman's screaming. "You've scared your brother again with your demonic face! Stay away from him! Just stay away!"

The front door of a large white house was thrown open, and a small boy darted out, his silver hair reflected by the street lamps as he made a mad scramble for the road. Behind him, the woman who had been screaming, baring very striking facial similarities to the boy stood, waving a large kitchen spoon in a threatening matter. As he glanced behind him, the young boy clutched his head, tears that he wouldn't allow to fall gathering in the corners of his crimson eyes. He watched in silence as his mother glared at him from the patio, before stepping back into the house and slamming the door behind her.

With a heavy sigh, the small child started down the sidewalk back toward his house. There was no point in trying the front door; even at the tender age of seven, he knew it would be locked. He'd learned that almost a year ago that when his mother would chase him out like this, it was better off staying away. It had only taken a few times for him to catch on, and trying to get back inside before dawn would result in him getting smacked around again—which would make his two-year-old brother, Ludwig, cry again—and he'd be sent back out.

He hadn't meant to make his little brother cry. They had been playing a game of hide-and-seek, and he come up with the now seemingly not-so-wise idea to jump out at Ludwig and startle him. Needless to say, that hadn't turned out well for him, and here he found himself at the park for the third time that week, standing at end of a crawl-tube, and clutching the well-worn and dirtied blanket he hid in the bushes for when he was chased away. His small body trembled under the cold wind, and he bit back a small whimper. He was a big boy—of that he was sure—and big boys didn't whimper or cry.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, the young silverette slipped into the cement tunnel and started toward the middle. The stone floor was cold and rough against his knees, but he ignored it. He had scraped his knees on it countless times before, and he didn't see the point in starting to care about it now. He was almost to the center, when a sudden voice cut him off, calling him gently from behind.

"My, my… You're out here again. What's a young boy like yourself doing out alone in the cold this late at night?"

The boy jumped, turning around quickly, yelping loudly as the side of his head hit the wall of the tunnel. At the other end, an elderly gentleman with wavy white hair watched him in concern. He winced and grabbed his forehead, whimpering quietly as something warm and sticky coated his palm. "A-Autsch!"

"Sind Sie verletzt?"

The young boy jumped, his ears perking at the familiar use of his native tongue. It was rare that anyone spoke to him in German, let alone in such a gentle tone. He blinked and looked over at the man warily, nodding his head slowly and mumbling a tiny, "Ja…" under his breath. Pulling his hand away from his forehead, he winced, staring at the crimson liquid that stained his snow-like skin. "…Autsch…"

"Here," the young silverette looked up, blinking owlishly at the white handkerchief that was being offered to him. His crimson eyes shifted from the fabric to the man's face several times, eying him suspiciously.

As if noticing his unease, the man smiled again and held his other hand up in a gesture of surrender. "It's alright," he said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help…I live next door to you and your family. Your name is Gilbert…right?"

Gilbert blinked in surprise, staring at the man in front of him with a blank expression. He knew better than to trust strangers, but he could remember seeing the old man outside the house next to his before. He _did_ know his name, and he really wanted to stop the bleeding on his head, but in order to get the handkerchief, he was going to have to trust this person. _I guess it doesn't matter,_ he thought sadly. _Even if I disappear...Mutti…Vatti…they wouldn't care._

Edging back through the tunnel slowly, the silverette reached for the handkerchief, jumping when the old man's hand clasped around his, turning his hand over slowly and dumped something wet onto the cloth.

"It's just water," the man explained, releasing Gilbert's hand and stepping back. "It will help you clean up."

Nodding quietly Gilbert pressed the cloth to his forehead, wincing as the cold and damp cloth hit his cut. The two simply stared at one another, neither daring to speak a word, in favour of avoiding a negative reaction from the other, until finally…

"…Um," the albino hesitated, eyeing the old man as if he were something both foreign and intriguing, but dangerous at the same time. "Who…are you…?"

The man smiled, chuckling under his breath. "I was wondering when you'd ask…my name is…"

Before he could finish, the world around them suddenly grew dark, and the man was beginning to fade away. Gilbert panicked, his eyes growing wide as he darted forward, trying desperately to grab for him, but his hand passed through as if the other were made of nothing but smoke. "No!" he cried, eyes wide. "Wait! Come back! Don't leave me alone_, please!_ Come back-!"

* * *

"NO!" Gilbert's loud cry filled the living room as the silverette jerked up, nearly toppling off the couch as his arms flailed widely for something to grab. His hand connected with something soft and solid, and he grabbed it, earning a muffled grunt of protest from what he had thought was a pillow a moment before. "Wh-what…?"

"Gilbert…while I recognize that you have a nightmare, and I'd like to help you calm down… I would be very grateful if you'd release my face and remove your finger from my nose."

"R-Roderich?"

The brunette nodded in confirmation, reaching out to cup Gilbert's cheek. His violent eyes searched the crimson orbs in front of him to some sort of explanation of what just happened, but silence was his only answer. Slender eyebrows knit together in worry, but thoughts of interrogation were quickly cast aside as the silverette pressed his face against his shoulder.

"Gilbert…?"

Silence.

"Gilbert? Are you alri—" A soft snore cut him off, and Roderich sighed, shaking his head slowly. "…Sweet dreams," he murmured, stroking the back of the albino's head gently. _He's completely exhausted... he couldn't even stay awake long enough to say more than my name. Gilbert... What is there to this man that you're not telling me?_

_

* * *

_

Holy shit! An author's not AFTER the chapter!? Never done this for this story before...

Anyway, just a quick note about Gilbert's dream... Around Berlin, the kids learn English from like day one, so the younger generations know pretty fluent English. Thus, it might be odd for a stranger to use German with Prussia. ...Okay, so I don't know if that bit about strangers is true, but I'm the author so I get veto power. For that matter, I don't even know if that fact is true, but that's what a friend and German teacher I asked told me, so... We'll just assume it's true either way. For the sake of the story.

Hope ya'll enjoyed that! Remember, reviews make me happy and give me the motivation to write faster! (Because I love throwing out things for you all to read~)


	9. Chapter 8

First off, I'm really sorry this took so long to update! I feel like this chapter is _way_ too short to make up for my long hiatus, and we won't even talk about that _thing_ I uploaded on Gilbert's birthday. It sucked. Big time. I am never posting one-shots I write in twenty minutes again... I just felt I needed to upload SOMETHING for his birthday because it was noon my time and NO ONE else had. Thus, I took it upon myself to get something up there...

Anywho, I really hate this chapter. Yeah, I don't like how it came out at all, but I couldn't think of anything else to fix it, either... So I can only hope you all enjoy it instead. I re-wrote the ending soooo many times. It's probably the only part of the chapter I really liked when I was done... But the good news is, I FINALLY know how I'm going to end this story, and depending on how I do it, that means 3-4 more chapters. Maybe five. It all depends on how things work out for this in the end, but I'm really happy people are still coming in and reading. Thank you all!

AND THANK YOU TO MY AWESOME BETA, **Amethyst DragonRider**, ONCE AGAIN!

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**pikaonix: **Oh man, I'm really not that good... D: If you think I'm any good, you need to go read "Duties of an Austrian Maid". Seriously. That has to be my FAVOURITE PruAus fic... ever. But I'm both sorry and glad you cried. It's good to know I can get emotions across~ Thank you for reading!

**MidoriNoKami**:Oh man, six in the morning!? Silly, you should have slept! The story wasn't going anywhere... I'm glad I'm able to keep people in-character enough that people aren't getting upset. I've been really worried about that. Here's the next chapter!

**AmericanKittyKat:** I'm really glad you kept reading the story even through you were hesitant! I'm so glad my writing ended up proving it's worth to you. I love hearing that I've manage to create something to beat others original expectations. I hope that means I've gotten better... and hopefully this chapter won't disappoint too much.

**Saiai Angel Alchemist:** Secretly, deep down inside, we all love angst. And thank you! :D I really don't think my style is all that great, but I'm glad you like it. Was Up any good? I really want to see it myself.

**Hazel-Beka:** You know what? For every time you apologize it's going to take one more day for me to update. So ha. No more apologizing for you! Kesesesesesese! ...You know, I totally love how you seem to be the only one picking up on every little comic-reference I make in this story. I feel like I should give you an Awesome Award for that. Seriously. And I know how you feel about people always seeming to know "what to say". I really don't like it when something like that happens, and Ludwig and Roderich REALLY don't strike me as the type of people who would take well to seeing someone they care about in distress. Hopefully his past won't disappoint you in this chapter... I really didn't like how this came out at all, but I pray it pleases. (And don't worry, that ending was supposed to be slightly humourous and lighten the situation.)

**Senaki Mira:** Don't slap yourself... That must hurt. D: I'm sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter!

**Himekun:** I have a few reviews from you in a row. I'm glad you like it thus far. However, the bulk of the story is meant to be focused on Gilbert and Roderich, not so much Ludwig. I'm trying to both involve him, but not throw him in all over the place without reason. I hope this chapter which has a lot more of him is pleasing.

**gwendal's wife:** ...Roddy, seriously, you need to calm down. You'll never be able to handle the changes I made to How to Save a Life if this is how you're reacting to this chapter alone. Seriously. CALM, Roddy. CALM. Breathe! Or I won't upload anymore.

**Silver and Gray:** Okay, so I was totally wrong. You were the 100th review. -throws confetti all over you and other awesome things- I totally didn't even know I'd hit 100 until you told me and... holy shit, what an epic 100th review. It was so long... and you were so kind. -hugs- But don't worry, I won't be killing off Italia or anyone like that. But yeah, Fritz was Gilbo's salvation of sorts. Probably the only reason he didn't land himself in jail--and those Zombie movies totally rock. I love Shawn of the Dead the most myself. XD That is an epic movie right there. ...Gosh, there is sooo much I want to say in reply to your review, but I don't want to keep you here all day. T__T So I'll thank you again for the awesome review that totally made me day when I saw it.

**Somebody-chan:** You shouldn't curse, Somebody. There are children around. Somewhere. I hope you like this chapter, and I'm sorry about Fritz. D: A lot of people are really sad I killed him off... -feels like a jerk-

**Sara:** Poor Prussia indeed... And Ludwig is a totally awesome little brother. I wish I had a brother like him. Or a brother at all, really. ...Or a sibling. -only child-  
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Naomi Hansen:** I know! I never add author's notes after the chapters. I was surprised with myself. :O I hope I didn't shock you too badly~  
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Flair-of-fire:** DX I'm sorry! I hope I didn't kill off your favourite character or something... D: I'm really glad you like how the story is going! -happy- It's good to know I'm not moving too slow or anything, but I'm glad I managed to slow down, as well.

**GASP:** Um, actually, it was a friend of mine who told me that. She's been to Berlin and has studied German for four years, so I took her word for it (I don't see why she'd lie) but for all I know, it's probably wrong. And be nice to the Berliner's. D: Don't be mean to them because we American's had a silly president who felt he was a jelly doughnut.

**Azeeza:** And I updated agaaaaaain. DX I'm sorry that took so long. -feels bad for giving crap chapter after long wait-

**Il fiore:** Oh gosh... It can't have been that good. I doubt it was one of the most beautiful things you've ever read. I'm... really not that good, but thank you! I'm sorry it made you cry, but I'm glad it was good enough to get an emotional reaction~

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**Chapter Eight**

"Gilbert…?" Roderich called out for what felt like the one hundredth time since he'd come up the stairs to try and persuade the albino to come downstairs for breakfast.

The sounds of Ludwig cooking downstairs could be heard faintly near the stairs, and the light smell of pancakes filled the house. It had been a poorly conducted method the two had devised the night previous in hopes of swaying Gilbert's mood to their advantage with his favourite food, but it didn't seem to be working in the least. Roderich had been upstairs for almost an hour now (or at least long enough to fill the kitchen with more pancakes than Ludwig knew what to do with and go through an entire bag of flower) and he had yet to get any form of response from Gilbert. His bedroom door remained stubbornly locked, and no sound came from the other side.

"Gilbert, please, this is ridiculous. You haven't come out of that room for a week. I know you've your own bathroom in there and you're able to clean yourself, but you need fresh air. This isn't _healthy!"_ Roderich paused, pressing his ear to the door in a desperate attempt to hear any form of sound from the silverette, but he was greeted with only the sound of paws against the wood floor inside as Adler moved across the room.

"Gilbert… You can't keep Adler in there. He needs to use the bathroom and eat! Unlike you, he can't last as long by starving himself." It was a futile argument and the Austrian knew it. The albino had been allowing Adler in and out of his room at intervals that neither Roderich nor Ludwig could figure out. The two had taken turns monitoring the door for an entire day once when they were both home, hoping to catch him in the act, but much to their disappointment the plan failed. Gilbert had simply kept his door shut and not allowed Adler in at all until they'd both left the hallway.

"…Please open the door…" Roderich murmured in a final attempt as he leaned against the wooden barrier. His hand hung limply on the doorknob "Gil, please… This is ridiculous. I know you're upset, but please… Ludwig and I only want to help you. We're _worried_, Gilbert. You're killing yourself over this… I know it's painful, but you can't… you can't keep doing this! What would herr Frederick say if he saw you treating yourself like this?"

Something behind the door moved, and Roderich's head snapped up, looking at the door eagerly. He could hear footsteps from inside, human footsteps, which, at the very least, meant that Gilbert was listening to him. The door shifted slightly, as if someone were pressing weight on it from the inside, and the Austrian tried the doorknob once more, only to find it hadn't been unlocked at all. _At least he's moving…_ the brunette thought with a sigh as he backed away from the door, fixing it with a glare as if it had just offended him. _…That's better than nothing._

* * *

"He's not going to eat, is he?" Ludwig asked as he stepped out of the kitchen and watched as a dejected Roderich shook his head.

A week had passed since the phone call delivering the news of Frederick's death. No news had come from his family since, and despite Ludwig's best efforts to get in contact with someone in Berlin to gain and news of a funeral, he was turned down each time. Even the hospital proved useless in the end, and it left the German frustrated beyond belief.

If Hetalia Academy hadn't taken attendance so seriously, he would have booked the first plane he could to Germany to take his brother, but it was hard enough convincing the school that his brother wasn't skipping class and at home, gravely ill. He could only thank the heavens his brother's handwriting was neater than people gave him credit for, which made it easy to forge when needed—but as most assignments were to be typed, this made it easier for him. Roderich had originally scolded him for doing Gilbert's homework, but by the middle of the week, the brunette had made it a habit of joining Ludwig in the evenings when they were sure the albino was asleep to assist in the combined workload of three student's assignments.

"Ludwig?" the Austrian called quietly, pulling the blond out of his thoughts as the two moved back into the kitchen. "…Just who was that man to Gilbert?"

Ludwig was silent, the look on his face faltering slightly as he glanced at the brunette. "…A friend," he mumbled, "Frederick was an important friend to him."

"You're not telling me something." Roderich frowned as he crossed his arms. "Why is this man's death so important? I remember when your _parents_ died, Ludwig, and he didn't so much as flinch or show the slightest signs of remorse. Why does _this_ man's death haunt him?"

"…It isn't my place to say," the German murmured with a shake of his head. "I don't have the right to tell you anything about it. If you want to know… you have to ask him."

"He isn't speaking to either of us! Barely a word all week, and he's eaten close to nothing. This isn't _healthy!_ He's going to kill himself, and you're doing nothing to help him!"

"What do you think I should do?!" Ludwig snapped, glaring at the brunette. "If I knew anything that might help him, don't you think I'd be doing it!?"

"Yes, I can see you're putting quite a fair amount of effort into it!" the Austrian replied, his tone sharp. "You've barely spoken to him at all!"

"And what have you done!?"

"At least I'm _trying_ to talk to him instead of tricking him into drinking drugged water!"

Ludwig's eyes flashed dangerously and he stepped forward, flexing his fingers around the spatula he'd been using to flip pancakes. It was shaking dangerously under the German's grip, threatening to snap under the pressure, and for a moment, the brunette thought of taking a step back in fear of it being used on him. "He wouldn't be sleeping otherwise, and we both know it!"

"So drugging his worries away for a few hours is the better answer?!"

"You'd rather he was awake all night and suffering!?"

Roderich faltered slightly, his mouth twisting as he tried to form the right words. Of course he didn't want Gilbert to _suffer_, but using drugs, and slipping them into his water without telling the silverette none-the-less, wasn't the best way to do things. It was wrong, he knew it, but he had yet to come up with a better idea himself. "That isn't what I want at all, and you know that. I don't want Gilbert in pain anymore than you do, but—"

"All my life Gilbert has taken care of me… He's thrown all his efforts into making sure that _I_ was happy! He cast aside his own wants and desires—_everything_—just to spend time with me and see to it that I always had a smile on my face…" Ludwig was advancing forward again, making Roderich take several steps back in shock. The strong plastic of the spatula was emitting a small whining noise under the pressure of Ludwig's grip.

The brunette was sure it was going to snap at any moment, and a voice somewhere in the back of his head suggested he take the utensil before it suffered and unfair end, but Roderich didn't dare get within arm's reach of the German in front of him. Not right now.

"And now, the one time, the_ one time, _it's finally _him_ who needs someone…I can't…I can't do anything for him. All I can do is watch him suffer… and hate myself more and more each day knowing he's in pain and I'm too much of a dummkopf to make it go away…"

"Ludwig…" Roderich bit his lip, feeling a wave of guilt wash over him. Ludwig likely loved Gilbert just as much, if not more, than he did (albeit in different ways, or so he hoped) and knew him worlds better. As an only child, he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain of watching your own brother suffer. "Ludwig, I—"

"You're _both_ a fucking dummkopf…" a tired voice called from the entrance of the living room, making the two males whip around in shock.

"G-Gilbert!?"

"Bruder…" Ludwig stepped forward, his arm extending out toward the other but stopping halfway, as if worried Gilbert might suddenly dart back up the stairs if he made any movements that were too sudden.

With a heavy sigh, the albino walked further into the room, Adler at his heels. The dog let out a small huff and nudged the silverette's knee quietly, looking up at him expectantly.

"…Yeah, that's fine."

Roderich raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to ask how he'd understood the wolf-like creature in the first place, when two fuzzy paws pushed against his chest and caused him to topple backward into a chair. "Wha…!?"

"West, go turn whatever is on in the kitchen off and get back in here."

Ludwig only nodded quietly; he couldn't find the voice or will to raise any protests. He left the room and returned shortly after, the abused spatula no longer in his hand, and took a seat in the chair beside Roderich, looking up at his brother as he waited for him to speak.

"The only reason I'm down here is because I didn't want to listen to the two of you shouting through the floors," Gilbert began, holding up a hand to stop their protests as they both tried to speak at once. "I've… not been fair to you two this week. West, I know the Old Man was a friend of yours, too, and I haven't exactly been the best brother… _or_ boyfriend after I got the news."

"Gilbert…" Roderich started, glancing at Ludwig, who nodded. "That's alright, we understand. You were—"

"—acting like a little kid." Gilbert cut in with a sigh, taking a seat on the couch. Adler quickly joined him on the cushions, ignoring Ludwig's faint whimper as he settled his furry body down and placed his head in the silverette's lap. "Just… shut up, Roddy. Let me speak, or I'm not going to get this all out and I'll end up feeling sorry for myself and moping around the house for Gott knows how long. Just… let me ramble for a bit—West, that goes for you too."

Several seconds of silence passed between the three as Gilbert waited for either of them to argue. When they didn't, he sighed and leaned back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "West, you already know most of this story, and you can add to it if you want, but don't bother sugar-coating anything. It's the past, and it isn't ever going to change, as fucked up as it was…"

"Bruder… if you don't want to tell him anything, I—"

"I can handle it…" Gilbert flashed his younger brother a weak smile before shifting his gaze to the brunette. "I know you and everyone else is just dying to know what the hell it was that went on in our past, and I know you're not some stupid rumour spreading chick, but if anything I tell you leaves this room—that includes going to Lizzy—I won't hesitate to hand you over to Francis, gift-wrapped, and drugged off your ass with a bottle of little blue pills. Understand?"

The Austrian gulped, his eyes widening a fraction. He wasn't sure if he should be hurt that Gilbert even considered that he might tell someone anything he had said on the idea of confidence, or concerned that he would pull through with such a threat, as there was no doubt that he would do it without a hint of regret.

"I… Of course! Gilbert, why would I—"

"I know you wouldn't. Just forget the threat then, you've got nothing to worry about. So, just shut up and listen." Alder let out a small whine and shifted closer to his master, nuzzling the silverette in the stomach. A pale hand absently stroked the canine's ears, earning another nuzzle before he began to speak.

The explanation started with Gilbert's dream of a few nights ago, a sad smile gracing his features as he remembered the day he'd met "Grampa" Fritz for the first time. His eyes sparkled with a dull fondness as a hand moved to play with a charm hanging around his neck in the shape of an iron cross. The pleasant story of the dream, however, quickly faded into something much more painful, and there were several points in the telling of the events that Gilbert had to stop and regain the proper use of his voice before continuing. By the time he was done, Adler's body was resting in Ludwig's lap, with his middle across the Gilbert's and his head in Roderich's.

Frederick, or as Gilbert had called him, Grampa Fritz, had been the boy's neighbor back in the old country when they'd lived in Germany. The elderly man was unearthly kind and gentle, and his house had been something of a second home to Gilbert, as the Weillschmidt household had never been very welcoming toward the older of the two brothers. Because of his albinism, the silverette's birth had been seen as a curse rather than a blessing, and his parents had paid him very little mind. They made it a point to only have the absolute minimal amount of interaction that was needed to keep him healthy until he could fend for himself.

Ludwig, however, had been very different.

When Ludwig was born, his parents showered the beautiful blue-eyed blond with affection. They regarded him as an angel, and the complete opposite of Gilbert, whom they said was demonic in appearance. Both parents adored the younger brother, and his 'normalcy' compared to Gilbert had been a huge relief. However, where most children would have developed hate for the pampered sibling, Gilbert quickly took advantage of their parents' busy work schedule and pushed his way into his brother's life. At first, this had only been to spite his parents, and to take pleasure in the idea that Ludwig had grown attached to him rather than them, but the young Ludwig's innocent mind and sweet personality worked its way into the albino's heart, and Gilbert's plan was quickly thwarted as he gladly stepped up to his position as an older brother.

Still, the fact remained that, while Ludwig had grown up showered with love and affection, Gilbert had not. Of course, despite his unusual appearance, the silverette was a beautiful child and _very_ popular at school, but the difference between love and admiration was too great to close the empty void that his parents had left. Frederick, however, had filled that quickly. Fritz had shown Gilbert the love that no one else had, and even to Ludwig, who, at the time was too young to fully understand what that meant, it was easy to see that the two had a special bond. Frederick had been the father, mentor, and friend that Gilbert had so desperately needed throughout his life, and the old man had more than welcomed the albino into his.

Unfortunately, because of his parent's treatment, Gilbert had quickly learned to keep his feelings hidden outside of Frederick's house, especially after their parent's death. He had vowed to follow the example of kindness he'd been shown and make sure his brother's life was far better than his own. The silverette had always tried to be so strong for Ludwig and to be the young blond's pillar of strength whenever he needed one, and now, while he didn't say it directly, that strength had crumbled, falling to the floor in a pile of dust and rubble.

The story was shorter than Roderich expected, but not nearly as happy as he'd hoped. While parental love hadn't exactly been something he knew particularly well, he had at least known something close to it. His musical talent had earned him his parent's love—if not that, at least their respect—but the story the silverette told left him wishing he'd been a little more grateful he'd gotten that.

Adler's nose poked absently at Roderich's hand as he glanced toward the two brothers. Gilbert appeared to be in a complete daze, while Ludwig looked emotionally torn. The blond hadn't spoken a word since his brother had started the story, and the musician could only guess that it was guilt and sorrow keeping him silent. Despite everything that had been done, it didn't appear as if there had ever been a point in time in which Gilbert blamed Ludwig for their parent's treatment, and he doubted the silverette ever would.

"Gilbert, I…" Roderich trailed off, at a complete loss for what to say. The albino had gone through so much in his life, but he still held the ability to joke and smile as if nothing were wrong. It awed the Austrian that anyone could manage to pull through such a feat and still keep standing. He felt weak in comparison.

"You don't have to say anything…" Gilbert said with a small shrug. His eyes were focused somewhere near the floor as his fingers absently brushed through the fine hairs of Adler's coat. "I've… gotten over my past for the most part. So my parents were shitty, so are yours, but at least mine are gone and I can move on. You still have to deal with your dad's crap every time you go back to that house."

"Don't turn this to me…" the brunette muttered softly as he placed a hand on Gilbert's cheek, tilting the albino's head toward his own. "You have every right to be upset and hurt right now, and don't even begin to think you must deny yourself that. Ludwig and I have both been so worried about you this week… You haven't spoken to us up until now, and we hadn't seen you step out of your room for days. We… we were scared, yes, but Gilbert… I know you believe that you have to be strong for your brother and myself, however…"

"...Let us be your strength for now." Ludwig's deep voice suddenly cut in as he stood up and moved to kneel in front of his brother and Roderich. His face was set into a look of determination, placing a hand on Gilbert's knee before he continued speaking. "You've… you've always been there for me, Gilbert. You always put your efforts into making sure _I'm_ happy. Even if you take the time to tease me at every chance you get, you've never once made me feel unhappy or miserable in my life. When our parents died… you dropped _everything_ in your life to see that I was alright and… I'm so grateful for it. I doubt I'd have made it this far if I didn't have you with me, but… I now I want to return that favour. I want to be your strength now, if only for a week, or even a few days. I… want to help you. _…bitte."_

"I'd like to help you as well. In any way I can, no matter what it is, you can come to me. You've saved me from myself and the world around me so many times, Gilbert." Roderich smiled gently as he moved his hand to rest on Gilbert's other knee when Adler pulled back with an annoyed huff. "I owe you my eternal gratitude for simply being the wonderful, albeit slightly eccentric, person that you are."

"You're both a pair of saps…" Gilbert murmured with a shake of his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "But… thank you."

Roderich let out a muffled cry of surprise as an arm wrapped around his neck and tugged him to the floor. Ludwig's shoulder was digging into his back and the German was letting out muffled protests just as surprised as own, neither expecting the sudden embrace from the albino.

"Of course…" Roderich muttered, bringing a hand up to rest on Gilbert's arm. "We've always been here for you, Gil… Always."

"We always will be…" Ludwig added, awkwardly returning his brother's embrace. "Always."

* * *

"Are you… sure I should be here?" Roderich asked Ludwig quietly as he tugged at the black tie around his neck. "I've never met this man before, and I hold no connections to him or his family. I feel as if I'm intruding."

"You're not." Ludwig assured the brunette, slapping his hand away from the tie. "And even if you feel like you're intruding on the family, you're not here for them. We both came for Gilbert's sake, and if anyone feels the need to complain about it, they can talk to me. I don't want my brother alone with a bunch of people who couldn't care less if he'd shown up or not."

Roderich nodded silently and walked over to the door of the room he stood in with Ludwig. Through a small window toward the top, he could see the main lobby with ease. He spotted Gilbert in the corner standing away from the rest of the family quickly, his snow-white hair standing out against the sea of black suits and dark-brown hair and hats around him. The musician's stomach clenched painfully and he grabbed the doorknob, glancing at Ludwig as if asking for silent permission to leave the room.

"Don't wait for me…" the blond muttered, reaching for another glass of water on the table beside him. "Go to Gilbert, I'll be out in a moment."

"Ludwig?"

"I just need a few moments to myself."

Biting his lip, the Austrian hesitated beside the door for a moment before nodding slowly and stepping outside. He trusted Ludwig not to do something stupid alone, but Roderich couldn't help but feel guilty at the lack of comfort the younger of the two brother's had received since the phone call a week ago. Between the two of them, he and Ludwig had spent more time at Gilbert's side than alone, and rarely saved any time to themselves.

"I'll see you soon, then. The service starts in a few minutes… I'll let Gilbert know you're coming."

"Thanks… See you soon."

* * *

The service passed by without trouble. Gilbert joined the family at the front in the second row with Ludwig on his left and Roderich his right. As the priest spoke, both felt a light tug at their sides as Gilbert intertwined his hands with one of their own. His eyes had remained dry for majority of the service with a pained look on his face, but little more.

When it had come time for them to walk past the casket for final goodbyes, the albino had refused to leave the comfort of either of his companions. Gilbert buried his face in Roderich's shoulder after first glancing down at the unmoving face of his beloved father-figure. People behind them peered at the silverette in faint annoyance when he didn't move, but Ludwig quickly kept them quiet with a glare of his own and a protective hand on his brother's shoulder.

"…Gilbert," the blond said gently after nearly minutes had passed. "We should move on. Others want to see him as well."

Gilbert only grunted quietly in response and pulled away from Roderich's shoulder, following his brother in silence as they made their way back to their seats. Tears were silently forming in the albino's eyes, but Roderich was ready with a handful of tissues, gently brushing them under Gilbert's cheeks as they say down. Ludwig took both his brother's hands in his own, trying vainly to provide the comfort he didn't know how to give, and they were both rewarded for it as the silverette pressed a brief kiss to Roderich's lips, and a gentle affectionate one to his brother's forehead.

"Danke…" he muttered in a low tone, offering them both a small smile. "For coming with me..."

"Thank your brother," Roderich said in a low tone, trying not to talk over a family member at the podium. "He was the one who insisted we both come with you. I… I admit, I thought that we would get in the way originally."

Gilbert shook his head, the ghost of a smile forming on his lips as he took each of their nearest hands in his own and gave them a small squeeze. "Neither of you are _ever_ in the way, that's my job. You're my family, and I'd have probably done some pretty stupid shit if it hadn't been for you two."

"…I'd disagree if I weren't convinced it was true." Ludwig said in a serious tone from Gilbert's left. "I know his death as hurt you, Gilbert… but don't think for a moment yours wouldn't hurt us. You're lucky we didn't break that damned door of yours down."

"So that's what the slamming noise was…" the albino muttered, giving Roderich a weak but amused grin. "I thought one of the dogs had run into the door or something. You're really not too good with physical strength, are you?"

"Th-that…!" Blushing heavily, the Austrian turned away in a flustered huff before he crossed his arms and tried to focus on what was being said in the front of the room. A priest had just taken the podium and begun the final words of the day. Soon the cars would be pulled around outside, and they would be taken to the burial ground. Gilbert had already made the request that they didn't join the others in the graveyard; he wanted to visit the grave alone without a large crowd around him.

When the priest finished, various family members slowly made their way out of the room in groups as they made their way toward their cars. Gilbert remained silently in his seat, his eyes trained on the casket at the front of the room until it was shut for the final time and moved away. Beside him, Ludwig gave his knee a comforting squeeze. The younger of the brothers had known how badly Gilbert wanted to help in carrying the casket, but Frederick's family had been less than willing to allow the silverette to help. None of them had taken well to the old man's odd adoration with him, and most of the direct family saw him as an intruder, while the more distant family had been welcoming.

"We should go…" Roderich muttered in a quiet tone. "I doubt they want us to wait around in the room when there is no reason to be here any longer. We should head back to our hotel for now."

* * *

"Will be he alright?"

"He'll be fine…" Ludwig nodded quietly, leaning against the tree he stood under with Roderich. The German's sapphire eyes were locked on his brother's figure several yards away kneeling in front of a grave, his pale lips moving quickly with words he couldn't hear from where he stood. "He said he wanted to talk to Frederick alone for a while… I believe he deserves that much without us breathing down his neck. Gilbert wouldn't do anything stupid, not over that man's grave."

"…I never quite realized how strong your brother was, Ludwig." Roderich mused, crossing his arms as he leaned against the tree beside the other. "While his means of coping over the past week were… less than healthy, he has held himself together quite well since he pulled himself out of his room."

"Gilbert has held himself so high for so long…" the blond sighed, "I'm not surprised he fell as hard as he did at all. If anything, it surprises me that it only took him a week to recover. He has held all his sadness in for so long… Almost twenty years of emotional buildup… I don't know how he's able to move around as he is now."

"You're lucky…" the Austrian said with a small smile. "I would give anything to have a brother like Gilbert growing up. Though I suppose that would make me greedy… I have him now. There is little more I could ask for."

"You have him now, don't you?" Ludwig asked, glancing at the brunette beside him. "You've had him at your side for a very long time, Roderich, even if you failed to notice it." His tone turned almost bitter at the end, making Roderich wince in guilt.

"Ludwig, I…"

"It doesn't matter…" Ludwig cut him off. "The point is, he has you now… and I'm glad. I admit… I was jealous at first. I've… had grown accustomed to having my brother's attention focused on myself more often than not, and it was childish of me to expect or want it for longer. I, err…"

Roderich laughed quietly and shoot his head. The child-like pout on Ludwig's lips was so unlike him, and the brunette couldn't help but smile. The bond between brothers was truly a wonderful thing, and the musician found himself replicating the feelings of jealous as he allowed his mind to wonder what it would be like had Gilbert been his own brother. "I suppose, in the end, we can only be grateful for what we have."

"Indeed…" the German nodded quietly.

"Heeeey! Roderich!"

Both tree-dwellers jumped as Gilbert's loud voice called across the graveyard. Roderich's glasses slide several inches down his nose and he scurried to push them back up as he pushed off the tree and stepped forward.

"Don't just stare at me, get over here! I want to introduce you!"

The musician froze, eyes wide as he glanced back at Ludwig, silently asking what he should do. With a shrug, the German motioned for Roderich to go to his brother and took his place against the tree once more. "You don't have to wait for my permission to go, Roderich. He wants you over there."

"I… yes. Of course. I, ah, I'm coming, Gilbert."

Quickening his pace, the brunette hurried over to the grave the albino was sitting in front of and knelt down beside him, bowing his head respectfully. Violet hues gazed at the writing embedded into the stone, and Roderich couldn't push away the feeling of sadness that washed over him as he played the name over and over in his head. This man had done so much for Gilbert, given him more than anyone else, and yet this was his reward. An early death he didn't deserve and a lonely grave.

"I, ah… Good afternoon, herr William. It… it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Gilbert has told me many things about—"

"You're too formal, Roddy." Gilbert said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, the old man would have scolded you for that. Just talk to him like you would a friend."

"O-oh, I see… then, ah…"

"Calm down, Roderich…" the silverette snorted and took Roderich's hand lightly in his own, turning back to face the tombstone before them. "Hey, old man… I know it's a bit late, but… this is Roderich. I know you were always nagging me about meeting him, especially this past month. I… I was going to introduce you two when you came to visit this summer, but…" he trailed off with a shaky sigh. "Guess it's a little late for that, huh?"

"Gilbert…"

"But I kept my promise in the end, right?" Gilbert intertwined his fingers with Roderich's and held their hands up, kissing the back of the brunette's. "I wish you two could have met face to face. You'd have loved him. He's got a bit of stick up his ass sometimes, but—"

"Gilbert! I do _not _have a sick up anything!"

"—he's a really awesome person. West seems to like him enough, and it's nice to know those two get along. Ah, but you haven't seen West in a while, either, huh?" He grinned and waved his free hand in the air. "West! You get over here, too! Come say hi to the old man!"

Ludwig grunted quietly and made his way over to the other two, taking the empty space on his other side of his brother. "You shouldn't shout in a graveyard, Gilbert. It's rude…"

"Yeah, well, I bet all these old geezers could use a little noise once in a while. It's like someone turns the damn sound off when you come into one of these things."

"These 'things' are—"

"Yeah, yeah… Calm down, West. Don't lecture me here. He probably loves all this noise instead of people sobbing over him like they were yesterday."

"…You cried as well, Gilbert." Ludwig muttered in a low, almost sympathetic tone. "There is nothing wrong with…"

"I never said there was. I just said he needed something better than tears." Standing up, the silverette looked toward the sky with a small sigh. Dark clouds had started to form, and a musty smell rode on the wind.

"We should head back. It's going to rain soon." Roderich said, rolling back on his ankles to push himself up. "We don't want to be caught out here in the storm."

Ludwig glanced back toward the grave and sighed quietly, reaching out a hand to brush it over the stone. The look on his face one of sorrow; even if Frederick had been more important to his brother, the old man had been kind to him as well, and they both owed him a great debt. "…Thank you for watching over my brother when I could not," he muttered. "Back then, and even now. Please continue to make sure he's safe."

"What are you mumbling about, West? Let's go."

"Fine, fine…" Ludwig stood up and started after his brother, sighing. "I swear, Gilbert, you have no patience once when it comes to other people…"

Behind the two brothers, Roderich lingered beside the grave momentarily, giving the stone an uneasy look. With a quick look over his shoulder, the brunette bowed deeply, placing a hand on top of the tombstone. "…I'll watch over him. I know that we've never met formally before, but I promise you that I will take care of Gilbert as best I can. I know he does that for me… and I'll do all in my power to return that favour double to both him and his brother."

As he turned to walk away, the breeze around him picked up, making the brunette shiver. Wrapping his arms around himself, he shook the hair from his face and stepped forward, freezing as he heard a soft voice on the wind whisper, _"Thank you, Roderich…"_

"Wh-wha…"

"Roderich!" Ludwig called out in a loud voice, waving from several yards away. "It's starting to sprinkle. Please hurry."

Shaking his head, the Austrian hurried forward to join the two brothers. "I-I apologize. I thought… I heard something."

"Heard something?" the younger brother frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm… not sure." Roderich admitted uneasily. "I'm not fully sure I heard it either. It… No, the cold must be getting to me. I—"

"…I'd like to get something to eat." Gilbert suddenly said, making the other two stop and stare at his back in shock as he passed them. "I could really use a fuckin' beer. And something to eat—wurst sounds awesome right now. Or maybe pizza. Shit, I don't care, just something warm and greasy. Better yet, is there a pancake place around here?"

"…Wh-what?" Ludwig and Roderich stammered in the same bewildered tone.

"Food?" the albino repeated, giving the other two an odd look. "You know, you eat it? I'd like some. I haven't eaten a decent meal in over a week. Those pancakes and sandwiches you guys left were pretty awesome, but I never finished them. I'm hungry."

With a grin, Gilbert turned away from his brother and Roderich and started toward the car, humming quietly to himself.

"…It looks like he's finally starting to cheer up again." Roderich said quietly, shaking his head. "I didn't think this would do that much for him."

"I think what upset him the most… was that he never got to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

"You'd be surprised how much a simple goodbye can put someone to rest. Gilbert would talk to Frederick all the time through letters on the phone. Or maybe… just being here has helped. Gilbert always listened to him, no matter what it was; Frederick could get him to do almost anything on command."

"You think seeing his 'father', for lack of a better term, made him realize what he's been doing this week?"

"Who knows… I've never understood my brother's mind."

"…I'm not sure we're supposed to."

"West! Roderich! The Awesome isn't getting any less hungry here! Don't make me start eating the seats!"

"Wh—Gilbert! Don't chew on the car! It's a rental!"

"LEATHER IS DELICIOUS!"

"_GILBERT!"_


	10. Chapter 9

So... yeah. This chapter was almost painful to write. For the last three days I've been getting a rush of ideas for _How to Save a Life,_ which is going to be COMPLETELY re-written and retitled to _The Long Road Home_. I currently have a note book with 50 pages of notes for that story--they just kept coming. I even have the last line of that story written for when I get around to getting it all down.

I really want to finish this story first, however, so I don't end up abandoning it, because I rather like this story. Just looking at the two of them and what I have planned thus far, I think _The Long Road Home _[Previously known as _How To Save a Life_] will end up being my better story, but I won't let myself play with that one until this is finished. But again, I have the chapters all planned out for this story, so that's good, ja?

Thanks once more to my wonderful BETA, _**Amethyst DragonRider**_, who has stuck with me for many-a-chapters now, despite my lack of pattern in writing at all, and to you all for putting up with my lack of updating. I tried to get this chapter done faster, but the second semester of school has just started so I'm jumping around a bit with things I _need_ to do, and things I _want_ to do.

In other news, I opened a collaboration account with a friend at school by the name of _TeutonicFlower_, so be sure to go and check that out. We only have two things uploaded right now, but we have fun writing the stuff together. Um... I also opened a new **Gakuen Hetalia** RP site on pro-boards since my old RP site sort of died. If anyone is interested in it, the link is in my profile as my website and linked on the main page. A few friends from where I live help me out with it because they were super eager at the idea of me making a forum for us to hang at since my old one died.

AND BEFORE I FORGET!!!

A special shout-out to _**Senaki Mira** _and **_Naomi Hansen_, **because I said I would (ha, I bet you thought I was kidding, didn't you, Naomi? Kesesesesese!) Thank you two for sticking with this story for so long and reviewing so much. It means a lot, really... and Naomi, thank you for giving me that little push reminder on DA to keep writing. XD I had totally gotten distracted for a bit till I read that comment so thanks for getting me back on track. I hope this chapter is enjoyable for you two and everyone else as much as the others seemed to be.

**Also**; _Amethyst DragonRider_... I couldn't figure out what the hell that study typo was supposed to be. So I just made a word up that seemed to fit in there. XD

_And the last bit of news to you all..._ THIS STORY IS COMPLETE! That's right, I've got the epilogue all written and finished. I'll probably post it by the end of the week... I hope this is enjoyable~

* * *

**Merchant-Love:** I know you don't review to me, but if you give me another mini-heart attack with that fanboying of yours again, I might have to hurt you. Seriously. D: I'm not that amazing... Please don't keep telling me that I am. I don't have an ego... I think it's better I don't get one, okay? And I thank you again for helping me working out a few ideas for _The Long Road Home_ [previously known _How to Save a Life_.]

**Naomi Hansen:** I know how you feel... is completely blocked at my school. I can't even read on the site unless I use my iPhone on the edge network. Otherwise I gotta wait until I get home. I'm really sorry it took so long to update, but I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter regardless of it's bad quality.

**NajikaIce:** You laughed at that! Woo! That's good. That was the goal. Cheer people up after what was a really morbid chapter...

**Azeeza:** You're not the only one who wanted to hug him. I felt like a bit of an ass by the end of the chapter and wanted to hug him as well... but thank you for telling me the chapter didn't suck. It's good to know people can still enjoy my writing at it's worst.

**Senaki Mira:** This chapter actually was really hard to write. Other than Gilbert's past, I really didn't have anything planned for this chapter, and it was my first time writing a funeral, like, ever. So I was totally guessing on what I was supposed to do. Even though I've been too way too many for any kid my age...

**Ying-Darkness:** Whoa... Oh, man. I'm not that good, at all. No way am I novel quality, but thank you.

**BringMeDementia:** That's a lot of emotions for one chapter... but I'm really glad you like it. I'm super glad that I was able to combine different emotions throughout the chapter. Your comment wasn't crap at all, and I really enjoyed reading it~

**Hazel-Beka: **GASP! What a quick review! -giggle- It's good to know you'll be holding back those apologies from now on, though. S'bout time you caught on. I am really glad you liked this chapter... Seriously, I _really_ respect your writing, so I'd trust your judgement of the overall quality. ...I really hope that doesn't make me sound like an asshole to the others. Really, out of everything in his chapter, the German's history was my favourite part. I love their brotherly relationship so much, and I rarely get to see that anymyore. It's mostly Germancest with those two, and the family fluff is forgotten. I really like Gil more myself than Bertie, but I like Gilbo, too.... but I'm SO glad you like that gravestone scene. It was actually a last minute addition to the chapter. I wanted to add SOMETHING for Gilbo and Roderich in that chapter to play with their relationship a little, and I guess Gilbert's just come somewhat by reflex to me, despite the fact that I don't think I'm good with him. (And it's true, being dead is no excuse for bad manners. Hurhur.) But yeah, I'm glad that last line made you laugh. I wanted SOMETHING that was a little happier after that morbid chapter but I didn't want to go too far overboard. Looking back over the chapter, I guess I'm kinda proud of it, but at the same time I'm still a bit disappointed. Maa, I'm rambling, now. Hope this chapter is just as good.

**Anina-chan:** Kesesesesese.... The image of Germany in a ribbon IS a nice one, huh? Ah, but I'm always glad to have a reviewer from Germany. I'm on Cloud 9 with all the compliments I get for my German and such. (You are from Germany, yes? -worried she missunderstood-).

**LithiumKiss: **I love your SuFin avi, first off. I love that pairing... Ah, but you're right. Everyone is their own worst critic when it comes down to it, and it's often our downfall... but I'm glad my writing is good enough to please so many other people. It means more than I can explain. Sorry to hear I killed you inside a bit, though I'm glad it was in a good way.

**Sara:** Don't worry, no spatulas were harmed in the making of this story. Or Ludwig's. ...Well, maybe a Ludwig, but he's alright. The psychiatrist is working with him every Tuesday and Thursday after work.

**Kyu kyu: **I'm... not good enough to be a real writer yet, but it's good to know I can write well enough to make people laugh enough to leave a review. -pleased-

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Several months had passed since Frederick William's funeral and things had almost returned to normal in the Weillschmidt household. Gilbert had returned to school at the first opportunity upon their return home from Berlin, and much to everyone's surprised, completing his missing work without any extra argument or protests. The Prussian was easily able to catch up with the other students through the help of his brother and Roderich, and the administration staff didn't question his sudden disappearance—Ludwig had made sure of that.

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Roderich asked Gilbert quietly as he tugged his arms through his coat. "I don't plan to stay for long. I just wish to pick up what is left of my belongings before my father disposes of them. I doubt he'll even be home, Gilbert. There's no need for you to waste your time like this…"

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to do it." Gilbert said with a shrug and tugged a red hoodie on over his black t-shirt. "I've got nothing else to do, and if he _is_ home, I'm not letting you get nailed again. If that bastard so much as touches you, I'll return the favour ten-fold."

"Don't do that…" the brunette muttered with a sigh, handing the albino a scarf which was put on with a roll of crimson eyes.

"It's barely fall, Roderich…"

"I'd much rather not have to come up with another excuse for your sudden disappearance at the school. I don't need you getting sick, and I doubt your brother would want that either."

"You're really uptight when you're nervous, Roddy. You know that, ja?"

Ignoring the tease, Roderich opened the front door and stepped outside, inhaling the crisp scent of fall air with a small smile. "It isn't likely that there's much left… I can probably fit it all in a backpack."

"Then I'll carry the backpack for you."

"Why are you so determined to come with me, anyway?"

With a grin, Gilbert quickly shut the door behind him and pushed Roderich down the road. Every few seconds he would glance over his shoulder as if expecting the door to suddenly throw itself back open. The look in his eyes told the Austrian that he was either up to or avoiding something that didn't seem to be going in his favour.

"West asked me to walk the dogs," the Prussian finally admitted once they were around the corner. "He's been nagging me about it all week. I walked them yesterday, but I don't feel like doing it today. If he found out I was lazing around upstairs in the music room with you again he'd blow a fuse or something and I don't want to listen to him ranting right now—he shouts too much when he's pissed."

"He wouldn't shout if you just did your fair share of the work, Gilbert." Roderich muttered with a sigh as he shook his head. "You avoid your chores like the plague and it's a miracle that your room manages to stay clean."

"You wouldn't come visit me if it were messy."

"Must you always have something happen in your favour in order to do something?"

"Most of the time, yeah… but in this case, I really do want to help out. It's about time you left." Gilbert grinned widely, earning only an annoyed scoff in response and causing silence to fall between them as the albino took Roderich's gloved hand in his own.

In truth, Gilbert really was avoiding his duties of walking the dogs, but not for the reason he claimed. Earlier that week, Roderich had come to Gilbert with the request of making his residence in the Weillschmidt household more permanent. He rarely spent time at his own home anymore and the idea of having to return back home once a week did nothing but cause the brunette and overwhelming sense of depression whenever the day drew near. It was time he finally let go and moved on. He had never been a son to his father, and it was pointless to keep returning to a house where he wasn't wanted anyway. Gilbert and Ludwig had provided him with more a home than he ever could have hoped for, and it was there he wished to stay.

Gilbert, not surprisingly, had been thrilled at the idea and immediately welcomed the idea with open arms and a wide grin. It was Ludwig's unnaturally warm welcome that had taken the both by surprise. When asked, the German had simply nodded absently without even bothering to look up from his work and claimed it was about time Roderich finally made it official. His only request, much a very flustered Roderich's horror, was that if they felt the need to engage in "nightly activities" that they take care to keep as quiet as possible as some people had school in the morning and didn't want to wake up late.

"It's nice today, huh?" Gilbert mused quietly as they turned down the final that would lead them to Roderich's house.

The brunette, who had been lost in his own thoughts, blinked and shook his head, turning his attention to the silverette beside him. A slender eyebrow quirked upward as violet eyes narrowed in confusion, but nothing was said. Roderich's gaze shifted toward the sky and, true to Gilbert's words, he noticed how blue it was for the first time in several weeks. Storms had worked their way through the city one after another over the past week, so it was nice to see a cloudless sight for once.

"…It is a nice change of scenery," the brunette admitted in a quiet tone. "It's nice to be able to step outside without the fear of catching cold or getting soaked for once. I hope the weather lasts."

"You and me both… Awesome cannot be contained in a house for long periods of time. It gets bored."

"I hardly think the rain stopped you from leaving the house. I heard Ludwig shouting at you last night because you were dripping water all over the house."

Gilbert snorted softly and mumbled something about "whiney little brothers" as they stepped onto the porch. The albino waited in silence as Roderich fished out his key and pushed it into the lock, nodding when he heard the familiar click of the bolt being undone.

"…It's good to know he's actually remembering to lock the door now. The last time I came over it wasn't even shut properly."

"Getting robbed might do him some good," Gilbert muttered in a bitter tone. "Maybe he'd learn a few things."

"Gilbert!"

"Well it's true…" sighing, the Prussian leaned against one of the pillars that held the slanted roof over the porch. "You want me to go in with you?"

"Ah…" Roderich trailed off quietly, his fingers flexing awkwardly around the doorknob. He honestly didn't want to go inside at all. He hated coming here, and he hated going inside even more, but out of obligation to the man who had raised him, as questionable as the quality of that raising was, he made it a point to come and visit at least once in a while. However, on the off-chance that the man _was_ home, he didn't want to be in there alone. "W-well, it would be better for you to come inside, would it not? While it is much dryer today than it has been previously, the air is still moist and cold. I don't think Ludwig would be pleased if you were to get sick because of—"

Laughing, Gilbert pushed Roderich inside and followed shortly after, pulling the wooden barrier shut behind him. "Damn, Roderich. If you wanted me to come inside with you that badly, you just had to say 'yes.' I know it's hard for you to part from my awesome for more than a few minutes but—"

"If you're done inflating your own ego…" the brunette began dryly as he gave his boyfriend an irked look and a roll of the eyes. "I'll check the house to see if my father is home. Then we can collect my things from my room—granted they're still there."

"I love your optimism…" the albino muttered as he leaned forward, pressing a brief kiss to the others lips. "You're tense, Roddy. Calm down."

"Don't call me that…" Roderich said quietly, leaning into the hand that had just come to rest on his cheek. "We've been over this."

"Yeah you did. And just like before, I'm using my right to ignore your request and call you that anyway."

"…You're such an idiot sometimes."

"Yeah, well, I'm _your_ idiot, and I don't see you complaining about it. Now go and search the house for that bastard you call your father—and for his sake, I hope he isn't home, because I won't hesitate to punch him if he rubs me the wrong way again."

"Just leave him alone, Gilbert… He's an old fool and nothing more. Don't let him get under your skin." Before Gilbert could reply, Roderich turned on his heel and started down a nearby hallway, carefully checking inside each room he passed.

A small sigh tumbled from the albino's lips as he ran his hand along the wall near the doorframe, grinning in satisfaction when his fingers hit a light switch. He flipped it, but nothing happened. Frowning, he repeated the motion several times before he finally dubbed his efforts useless and cursed Roderich's father for being too much of a git to hold a job to pay for the electricity. There was a window to his close right, and he walked over to it, pulling the faded curtains back and allowing the natural light from outside to flood inside, blinking as his eyes adjusted from the dark living room to the beams of light.

The moment he turned around, he almost wished he hadn't and it became immediately became clear why Roderich hadn't bothered to look for a source of light when he entered the house. It was a complete mess and the word 'pigsty' wasn't nearly enough to do it justice; it was simply grotesque.

Bottles, both broken and whole, littered the floor in a maze of glass so complicated that Gilbert was astounded Roderich had made it through without stepping on any of the pieces. Stains were scattered about the once pristine white carpet, dark in colour and obviously the remnants of beer that had never made it to the mouth of the hand which held the bottle. Papers and bits of trash from various fast-food restaurants were piled up in the corners with clouds of insects swarming around them that made the albino's stomach turn as he thought of what might be left inside. The proud and elaborate wallpaper was now faded, stained with mildew, beer, and, Gilbert realized with another turn of his stomach, blood.

"What… the fuck?" the Prussian muttered in a choked tone as he swept his crimson eyes over the room. "Mein Gott… Roderich's actually been_ living_ in this shithole?"

The thought disturbed Gilbert more than the room did, and he quickly navigated his way across the room and toward the hall Roderich had just disappeared through. He quickly regretted the decision as he stared at the numerous doors lining the hallway, having forgotten just how complicated Roderich's house was. There were more rooms than any one family needed, and he felt a sudden newfound rush of sympathy toward Roderich who worked so hard to keep the now-near empty house over his head.

As he made his way down the hall, the Prussian glanced into each room he passed that had its door open. Much to his relief, none of them were nearly as bad as the living room, but compared to the once museum-like appearance of the home, it was a disaster. His stomach turned uncomfortably and he wished he had followed Roderich or kept by the door. A feeling of uneasiness was washing over him, and he suddenly felt defenseless; open. Like the trash and glass that littered the floor would animate itself and attempt to drag him under—away from Roderich and swallow him up just as it had any other happiness that the brunette ever managed to acquire.

"How the hell did he do this…?" Gilbert murmured to himself, pausing to step through yet another open door.

The newest room he stepped into looked almost the same as the others. Broken bottles and trash littered the floor, and various stains lined the walls, but there was something about it that, unlike the others, made Gilbert feel sick as he looked around. He stepped further inside, glancing over his shoulder as he went, half expecting the closet door to burst open and Roderich's mother to appear with had tight look of disapproval as she gazed at the albino while Roderich… and then he realized where he was.

"I did say that the piano had been sold, did I not?"

Gilbert didn't answer as he slowly shifted his gaze to the carpeting of the room. He could easily make out four unstained patches in the long-since cleaned floor where the legs of the piano had sat back when the room had been one of the most welcoming in the entire house. His pale lips twitched uncomfortably, and a rush of sympathy rose in his chest as he turned and made his way back toward the door where Roderich was waiting for him with a blank expression.

"Find anything?"

Roderich shook his head and crossed his arms with a sigh. "I don't see any sign of my father in the house… I'd rather just get what I need from my room and go than keep searching."

"Yeah…" Gilbert nodded quietly. "I don't want stay here longer than we need to, either. Gives me the fuckin' creeps."

"…While I disapprove of your vulgar way of putting it," the brunette said in a low tone, grabbing Gilbert's hand and leading him out of the music room. "I actually agree with you. My room is just down the hallway… I don't think you've ever seen it before, have you?"

"You always slept in that music room whenever you could, so… No. Not really. We'd set up sleeping bags in there if I ever managed to convince you to let me stay the night."

"Half the time you were drunk." Roderich scolded, "You're lucky I didn't leave you on the street."

"You cared about me too much to do that. Even back then, you were still dazzled by my awesome."

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night, Gilbert."

"That'd be you."

With a dark blush, the Austrian huffed and shoved his albino companion lightly in the chest before turning to open his door, freezing the moment the barrier was open. Violet eyes widened in surprised horror, and he took a step back, bumping into a confused Gilbert who leaned over Roderich's shoulder to see inside the room.

"Roderich…"

"F-father?"

"Get back!" Gilbert's sharp voice rang throughout the hallway, echoing off the walls.

Before he could think, Roderich felt himself tugged backward and suddenly Gilbert was standing in front of him. The albino's shoulders were tense, and even without seeing his face the musician could tell he was scared. His hand gripped the back of the Prussian's jacket as he leaned to the side to better see what was going on, but the moment he did, he almost wished he hadn't. The sight before him made his stomach plummet to the floor, and his hold on Gilbert's jacket tightened as he tried to urge the silverette backward.

In the center of his old bedroom stood Roderich's father, a dazed look on his unshaven and dirtied face. His left hand clutched a small revolver that was pointed at the dead center of Gilbert's chest. A small scream tumbled from Roderich's lips and this father jerked, his dark eyes meeting Roderich's own violet for a split second before the gun hand was moved and a loud bang filled the area.

Crimson eyes snapped shut on reflex as they waited for the piercing pain of a bullet, but nothing came. For a moment, Gilbert was sure that he'd been killed on impact, but the sound of Roderich's breath hitching tugged him back into reality. His eyes darted down to his own chest, looking for a wound that wasn't there. Relief washed over him, but it was short-lived as he spun on his heel, fearing that, for a brief moment, Roderich had somehow been hit without his knowing, but again he could find nothing. No blood, no wounds.

"What—" Gilbert stopped, a confused look crossing his features. Roderich's face was paler than he could ever remember seeing in his life, a look of utmost horror in his violet hues. Panic was starting to rise in the albino's chest, and he turned around, thinking that the man on the other side of the room had moved to take another shot, but as he turned fully, he immediately regretted it, and felt bile rise in his throat as he stared at the center of the room in shock.

Blood was splattered across the glass panes of the window and grimy walls along with something more solid that Gilbert didn't care name. Fresh crimson streaks ran down the wall where they met with a growing pool on the same color on the floor.

"Jesus…" the Prussian hissed as he took a step back. Throwing a hand over Roderich's eyes, he wrapped the other tightly around the brunette's waist and tugged him backward. Roderich didn't bother to fight back as he was pulled from the room and back down the hallway, the images of his father's lifeless body on the floor dancing before his blocked eyes.

It felt like an eternity before they were finally out in the open air again, and Gilbert couldn't have welcomed the cold breeze more. The Austrian in his arms had gone completely still in his grasp, letting himself be dragged more-so than walking, and it worried the albino greatly.

"Roddy? H-hey… stay with me, alright?" he muttered, lowering Roderich down onto one of the stairs, wrapping an arm tightly around his shoulder. "Don't freak out on me, Roderich… I'm gonna call for help, okay?"

Without bothering to wait for an intelligible response, Gilbert pulled his phone from his pocket and hit a number on speed-dial. The phone was pressed to his ear as he waited, nearly jumping as he hear the other end of the line pick up.

"West! About time you picked up, listen to me; I need you to call the cops and get them to Roddy's place right away!"

"Wh-what…?" Ludwig's surprised voice came through the phone. "What's going—"

"Don't ask questions, West!"

"Gilbert, I can't just—They'll want information."

"I don't have time to explain! We're out on the porch, easy to spot. His dad was inside… Just get here."

"His father was… I'll be there soon."

* * *

By the time Ludwig reached Roderich's house, the police were already parked outside with their lights still flashing. Two officers stood near the porch with notebooks in their hands trying to get answers out of Roderich and Gilbert, neither of which seemed keen on the idea of talking. The door to the house was opened, and another group of officers and medical personal were walking in and out in a steady stream as they walked to each other in hushed tones about something Ludwig couldn't quite catch.

As he approached the porch, the taller of the two cops let out a heavy sigh and knelt down, fixing his brother with a soft look. "I know you and your friend aren't at your best, but we really need to know what happened. We can't start and investigation without details, and until we have a story, you two are the only suspects we have."

"We didn't do anything!" Gilbert snarled, pulling Roderich closer to his chest in a possessive manner. "Go inside if you want your fucking suspect! He was coming at us, first! We didn't lay a damn finger—"

"Gilbert…" Ludwig interrupted in a quiet voice, causing the silverette to stop and turn toward him. "Please don't start a fight here."

"I'm not starting a fight! They're accusing me of—"

"Look at Roderich, Gilbert! Do you really think shouting is going to help right now?"

"They want to take Roderich to the station to interrogate him!"

Ludwig frowned. It wasn't a surprise that this is what the police wanted this, but Gilbert's resistance made it seem as if they were blaming the crime on the brunette already.

"I don't see what the problem is. You…" he trailed off, faltering under his brother's heated glare. The fact that Roderich was clinging to Gilbert as if the albino were his only lifeline didn't seem to be helping the matter either. "Brother… I can take you to the station. It isn't as if they can keep Roderich there overnight without a good reason."

Gilbert snorted. "You can't take me to the station, West. These guys already want to drag me down, too. They think I helped him do it."

"Do what, exactly…?"

"…Kill my father," Roderich muttered, speaking for the first time since Gilbert had pulled him from the house. "They… think Gilbert and I might have…"

"We don't believe that," one of the officers said gently, kneeling down to better look at the brunette's face. "We have to take you two in for questioning; you're the only witnesses we have. As far as we can tell, this looks like a suicide… but we need to know what happened. We have no reason to keep either of you for reasons beyond questioning, and this man here—" she nodded to Ludwig, "—is free to take you home after that."

"I'm not leaving him alone…" Gilbert growled in a firm tone. "Like fuck. If you want to interrogate us, you can do it right here. The station be damned. I won't—"

"Gilbert, stop." Ludwig commanded in a firm tone. "You're only stalling the investigation." Gilbert glared, but the blond ignored it, stepping forward to place a hand on his brother's shoulder. "The investigations shouldn't take longer than an hour or two at most… I'm sure they'll let you two ride down together, and you can comfort him again when they're done."

"But, West-!"

"_Gilbert!"_

The Prussian winced slightly. Ludwig yelled a lot, but it was rare his little brother ever used one of his sharper tones on himself. It was clear the other was frustrated, and it was never a good idea to push him once he'd gotten to that point. The German could have a nasty temper, and he didn't want Ludwig getting dragged into this for 'violent outbursts' or whatever fancy nickname it was that law enforcement gave it.

"…Fine," he mumbled and urged Roderich to his feet with a gentle tug, his arm never leaving the brunette's waist. "Whatever. We'll go. Just open your car so I can get him inside."

"I'll go home and get the car," Ludwig sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll meet you two down there."

"Right…" Gilbert smiled faintly, using his free hand to pat his brother on the arm. "See you soon…"

"Good luck."

* * *

"Mein Gott! Gilbert, _Setz Dich hin!"_ Ludwig groaned. He'd been watching Gilbert pace the length of the station lobby for nearly an hour, and it was obvious with each round the albino was getting more and more frustrated with the situation.

"How the fuck am I supposed to calm down!? They've had Roderich in there for almost four hours now! What the hell are they doing? Asking for his damn life story?"

"And what if they are? You can't do anything about it. Now _sit down_ before I take you home and come back to wait for Roderich myself. I'll tie you to a damn pole in the basement if that's what it takes to calm you down!"

Gilbert paused in his movements, a scowl etched across his pale face. Ludwig was shooting him a firm glare, and he knew better than to argue with the blond when he was set. His brother was stubborn—he'd raised him to be that way—and it didn't look like the other was in the mood to argue. Gilbert had no doubts the blond would pull through with his threats without so much as a blink of the eye.

"Setz Dich hin…" Ludwig repeated in a quieter voice. _"Bitte."_

"Ja, ja, was auch immer..." the albino sighed, dropping himself in the seat beside his brother. "I still think this is fucking ridiculous."

"I know… but getting upset isn't going to help right now. The receptionist has been staring at you and I don't want her calling anyone to have you thrown out."

Gilbert only grunted quietly in response, his gaze fixed on the ceiling as he waited in uneasy silence.

"Gilbert, I think…" Ludwig was cut off as a door to the side opened and Roderich stepped out, his head bowed. Gilbert was already on his feet before the blond could speak again, rushing over to the brunette's side and tugging him protectively into his arms; a gesture that was all too welcomed by Roderich who wrapped his arms tightly around the Prussian's middle.

"We're done talking to him for now… I'm sure he'd rather explain to you what happened himself. We'll need to be seeing him again in a month."

"A month, sir…?" Ludwig asked, but the cop had already disappeared back through the door in which he'd come.

"Roderich?" Gilbert called quietly, peering down at the brunette's face. "What is he talking about? A month until what?"

Roderich didn't answer, and the albino glanced toward this brother with a worried look, earning only the shake of a head in return.

"Roddy?"

"They… know."

"Know what…? That it was suicide? That's good, isn't it? That means we…"

But Roderich was shaking his head and Gilbert trailed off, sending another comfortable silence over the lobby.

"Roderich, we can't help if we don't know what the problem is…" Ludwig tried after a few minutes, "You…"

"They know… my situation. Since my mother is gone and my father is now dead… I have no form of guardianship keeping me here."

"What are you…"

"I'm to be deported at the end of the month."

* * *

"Dammit!" Gilbert snarled as he brought his first down on the counter, making Ludwig wince at the resounding 'crack' that filled the kitchen. "They can't just send him away like that! It isn't FAIR!"

"Stop shouting, Gilbert…" Ludwig whispered, "Roderich's only just fallen asleep. We don't want to wake him up."

"But it isn't-!"

"I know it isn't…" the German cut his brother off with a heavy sigh, "But what can we do?"

"I don't know… _something! _Anything! I can't… I can't lose him. What will he do if he goes back to Austria? Wander the fucking streets?! He doesn't have anywhere to stay!"

"You wouldn't allow that. We can give him money for a hotel and…"

"That's not good enough!"

"So what do you expect us to do!?" Ludwig snapped, jumping to his feet and storming over to Gilbert, who winced, realizing just how vast the differences in their height were.

"The only thing that kept Roderich in this country before was his parent's marriage. Had it not been for his mother, he never would have—Gilbert? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to do something that I shouldn't."

"Wh—Gilbert!"

"It isn't illegal, West, calm down."

"Then what—"

"I'm going to make it so Roderich doesn't have to leave. He can stay here; home, where he belongs."

Ludwig blinked, knitting his eyebrows together as he tried to figure out just what it was his brother was going to do… and then it hit him, like a dart to the bulls-eye, realization struck him full force.

"Gott…" he breathed, "Gilbert, you can't be… serious…"

"Try me… I don't care what it takes. I won't force anything on him he doesn't want… but if it'll keep him here, then I'll do it, West. Roderich… Roderich means the world to me. I know this sort of shit is supposed to be special with flashing lights and pretty flowers or whatever, but we don't have time for that. If those cops think they're going to take him at the end of the month, they've got another thing coming."

"When do you plan to…?"

"…In the morning. I'll talk to him tomorrow morning. For now… I just want him to rest."

"…Right."

"You mind watching him while I'm gone?"

"Gone…?" Ludwig raised an eyebrow, watching Gilbert as he started toward the door.

"Yeah, gone. I'll be back in an hour or two."

"Where are you going…?"

"Well, I have to make it official, don't I? Even if it's just a plain little thing, the gesture always helps."

"You're a fool, Gilbert."

"Yeah, well, you'd do the same for Italia—"

"His name is Feliciano…"

"—without a doubt, and I'd support you all the way."

"…I-I doubt I'd jump to your conclusion that quickly, but… I don't see any other way."

"Exactly. I'm off!"

And before Ludwig could respond, Gilbert was out the door. A few minutes later he could hear the sounds of the car being started and pulled out of the drive, and he could only watch from the window with a sigh as the vehicle disappeared from view.

"I need a beer…" he muttered, walking into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of the drink. He sat himself down at the table and popped the cap off with ease, looking up toward the ceiling where he knew Gilbert's room, where Roderich was currently sleeping, to be. "…He really loves you, Roderich. With all his heart. I know my brother is impulsive at times… but he'd never do something like this unless his entire being was into it. I really hope you realize what it is you are to him… and that he's the same for you."

_And I wish you both the best of luck. I hope to Gott this works out for you both… and for once, someone around here can have a happy ending._


	11. Epilogue

THIS CHAPTER IS SOOOOO LATE! DX I'M SO SORRY TO EVERYONE! I got soooo distracted with**_ The Long Road Home_** and I don't know what happened, but... yeah. It's hard to believe this story is over, and I'm really not sure if I like the Epilogue all that much. I rewrote it a few times, but I could never write it to a way that I was satisfied with... so I eventually just gave up and went with it (as there were only so many times I could go back and poke at this before my brain just said, "No, I'm done. Move on.")

A special thank you to, _**Amethyst DragonRider**_, for BETAing my chapters since... what? Chapter six? Anyway, thank you for all your kind help. I never would have finished without you.

So... yeah. It's over. Thank you to EVERYONE who has continued to review to me time and time again, and I've loved reading all your kind comments. I hope to see some of you at my other stories so we can continue to chat and poke fun at Ludwig together (because who wouldn't enjoy that?) It really means SO much to be that this story has gotten as much attention as it did, and I'm still honoured that so many people enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I hope that the ending to this story is pleasing to you all... I'd really hate to disappoint.

* * *

**Azeeza:** Roddy really does need those hugs, huh? Happily, he has a Gilbo to give them to him, so all is well~ I hope the Epilogue is above expectations for you.

**RoboPhantom: **Personally, I believe "The Long Road Home" is MUCH better than this one--in all ways. I am glad that I was able to get all the proper emotions of the last chapter across and I thank you for the applause--I really don't deserve it...

**memopanda:** Mm... I can't really answer your review without spoilers (though I won't say which way). Still, thank you for leaving me one, and I'm really glad I've managed to get everyone's personality and relationships down in a believable way.

**Naomi Hansen: **Watch out for those bells, they sneak up on you. -helps out from behind couch- Here is the final chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your kind words here and on DA.

**LithiumKiss:** Ludwig needs that love. He really, really does. Poor boy... I've been so cruel to him, but he has been such a good sport about it. I am sorry to hear that you understand Gilbert's situation a little more than I'd like... I can only imagine what that must be like, as I felt strange enough writing it. -hugs-

**Senaki Mira: **Um, we really shouldn't kill Naomi. She didn't tell me to do that shout out. I did that on my own. Don't be annoyed with her... I'm really honoured that you love my story as much as she said. -takes the bazooka away- Why don't you enjoy this chapter, instead, hm? No dark twists here.

**kazenokasa:** They really do deserve that happy ending... Honestly, they really, really do. Uwaa! But I'm excited you've finished translating the first chapter! You'll keep me updated on the reviews, right? I'd love to know what people think.

**Senka Milankovic:** Well, here you are~ Time to see if what happens, ja? I hope you enjoy this as much as the others.

* * *

**Epilogue**

The sharp, crystalline notes of a grand piano blended together perfectly with an accompanying violin and produced an almost mystical sounding song that reverberated throughout the music room and hallways of Hetalia Academy. An awed group of spectators lined themselves against the walls and watched the two musicians at work, taking note of how each of them seemed to subconsciously lead the other through the melody. Neither opened their eyes as they played, the sheet music on their stands left unused and forgotten as if the song had been long-since memorized by both players.

Several minutes later the song came to an end and only silence followed. The group of men on the side of the room glanced at one another before huddling together in a small group, their black-suited shoulders pressed tightly together and making it appear as if they were one dark mass of heads and glasses. To their right, a nervous looking professor glanced between them and the two musicians now seated close together on the bench of the piano. The elder clasped the hand of the brunette beside him gently in his own, muttering in quiet German to stop twitching and calm down.

"I'm not twitching, Gilbert," the brunette snapped, fixing the silverette beside him with a glare that was easily given away by the tremble in his tone. Gilbert laughed quietly and slipped an arm around the Austrian's waist, earning a skeptical look from their professor who turned his attention back to the suited men, waiting for them to turn back around and say something.

"Calm down, Roddy..." he muttered in a quiet tone. "It'll be fine. I've told you before, you're awesome with the piano—and when have I ever been wrong?"

"Shall I really list all the times? I doubt it will take them that long to judge our performance."

"…Burn in hell, Roderich."

"As long as you are there with me."

Quirking an eyebrow, Gilbert shook his head and glanced down at their joined hands where two matching bands of silver graced their fingers. His pale thumb brushed over the ring on the hand that held more color than his own pale one. Violet eyes slowly followed the gaze of his own crimson, peering down at the material symbol of their bond.

"I never did properly thank you for all you've done," Roderich began in a quiet tone. "For allowing me to stay with you, or your assistance today in my performance."

"Who said I was doing it just for you?" the albino smirked. "You should know there's almost always something in it for me when I do crap like this."

"Of course…" the brunette scoffed. "And what was in it for you _this_ time?"

"Well-"

"Excuse me? Herr Edelstein? Herr Weillschmidt?"

Before Gilbert could finish, one of the men in black suits stepped forward to address them. His deep brown eyes peered at them over his half-rimmed glasses with a wide smile on his face. "You're both quite impressive individuals," he said with a nod. "That was a beautiful performance. Do you two play together often?"

"On and off since we were children." Roderich answered before the albino could say anything. "We do it much more often now than we used to. It's quite refreshing."

The instructor nodded, looking between the two in approval. "I can tell. It's quite obvious. Are you close friends?"

"You could say that…" Gilbert smirked.

"Mm." The man nodded again and stepped forward, glancing over the sheet music that was sitting on Gilbert's stand. His eyes raked over the notes with focused interest before he turned back to the two of them and clapped his hands together loudly. "Well then, Roderich Edelstein, Gilbert Weillschmidt… It is my honor to accept you both into our orchestra. I'm sure the other members could learn quite a bit from the both of you as we travel on tour."

"The… both of us…?" Roderich asked in a confused tone. "Sir, wasn't this just an audition for…?"

"Kesesesesese, I told you we'd pull this off!" the albino grinned widely, clapping Roderich on the shoulder as he stood up. "We're just awesome like that."

"But I thought this was…"

"If it were a solo audition, you'd have played by yourself, dumbass. I thought you would have known that by now."

"Yes, but…"

"Herr Weillschmidt talked to us shortly before your performance and asked that you two were able to perform together. He was originally scheduled to play for us just after you, but he insisted that you be able to play a duet instead."

"Gilbert…?" Roderich turned to the albino with a questioning look. "Why would you…?"

"I said I'd stay by your side, didn't I?" Gilbert grinned, holding his hand out to help Roderich to his feet after the instructor asked them to clear the room for the next audition. "I wasn't kidding. I meant it—I'd follow you anywhere you go. West wasn't too happy about being left alone at home at first, but he eventually caved and said he wanted us both to do our best as long as we promised to stop in and visit and come home during the holidays when we can."

"Gilbert…"

"The same thing applies now as before, you know…" the albino muttered as he passed by one of the large windows in the main hallway, stopping to lean against the railing and look outside. "I meant what I wrote back then: 'The musician of my heart.' As long as you're there… I don't really care where I end up. If music is your path, then that's mine, too. I've got nowhere else to go, and I'm fucking awesome at the violin. Why not put the skill to use? West was always giving me grief about not using my _useful_ talents. Now I can."

Feeling something catch in his throat, Roderich bit his lip and tried to ignore the burning sensation in his eyes. Ever since the beginning of the year, Gilbert had proved himself time and time again, and often the Austrian didn't know how to take it. If someone had told him where they would be standing back when he stood outside Ludwig's kitchen door cursing his luck for having to watch the dogs, he'd have turned right back around and gone home. So much had happened so quickly, and part of him still felt as if he were living his life in a dream that he never wanted to wake up from. Yet here they were, in the hallway after being accepted into one of the most prestigious orchestras that traveled the world and preformed for more cities than Roderich could ever possibly imagine. He'd have never had a chance at making it had it not been for the man in front of him.

"Gilbert?" Roderich called quietly as he walked up beside the silverette, placing a hand on his shoulder and silently asking him to turn around.

"Hm…?" the Prussian blinked and spun around on his heel, peering at the Austrian curiously. "What's got you so serious all of a sudden? Shouldn't you be off telling Elizabeta the good news or something? Maybe play chopsticks? However it is you celebrate when you're happy?"

"There's no need right now. I've everything I need with me right here."

"Aw, how cute." Gilbert grinned, "You're actually starting to get pretty good at those pickup lines. Where'd you learn those?"

"From the best," Roderich scoffed, stepping forward to slip his arms around Gilbert's neck. "Just humor me and listen without looking for something to tease for a few minutes."

"I might be able to do that—My awesomeness does hold a variety of talents and abilities."

"I'm sure…" rolling his eyes, the brunette continued, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the silverette's. "…I wanted to thank you. I would have never made it this far had you not done everything you have up until now. I know I wasn't the most agreeable to your gestures at first, but… you've done more for me than the combined efforts of everyone I've ever met in my life. I… owe you so much, Gilbert… and I just wanted to thank you."

"You know what? I take back what I said before. You're still shit at flirting. That was corny as hell."

"Gilbert-!"

"But you're welcome, if it makes you feel better."

"…Thrilled."

Laughing, Gilbert threw wrapped his arms around Roderich's waist and tugged him against his chest, grinning as the brunette let out a surprised yelp and blushed crimson. His fist connected lightly with Gilbert's chest in a half-hearted protest, but the albino merely smiled and laughed again, inclining his head forward to claim Roderich's lips with his own, pressing forward until the Austrian's protests died and he finally received a positive response back.

Had the hallway not been empty, Roderich likely would have protested the sudden display of public affection, but at the moment, the brunette couldn't find a reason in himself to care if someone were to appear anywhere. He felt elated and on top of the world. His dream, the goal he had worked so hard for and nearly lost, was finally his, and there was Gilbert, right at his side, just as he had always been every step of the way.

Somewhere down the hall, he could hear the beginning notes of the next soloist beginning to play and a small smile graced his lips. The hand holding his was soft and warm, and it was all he needed in assurance that everything was, for once, going to be just fine. Pressed against Gilbert's chest, he could feel both their heartbeats resonating strongly in their chests, the four-beat metronome of their own beautiful duet.


End file.
